


A melody for us

by Ladycarathis



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Age Difference, College, I'll add everyone else when they show up, M/M, Oblivious Eren Yeager, Pining Levi, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Violinist Eren Yeager, band-au, lots of fluff in later chapters, the violinist-Levi Au no one wanted, there's going to be fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 01:33:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 59,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3362858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladycarathis/pseuds/Ladycarathis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“Okay, can everyone see?” Mikasa wanted to know and waited for affirmation from their friends, before she clicked the video to fullscreen and started it.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Leaning back, she and her brother watched the reactions of their friends closely. Marco's face showed silent disbelief -his jaw hanging slack open- when he realized what was going on, while Jean's face contorted to barely hidden anger and Annie clenched her jaw, biting her lips. Armin, who already knew, watched the video with a neutral expression, though everyone who looked at him close enough could see the suppressed anger in his bright blue eyes.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>“This! That -! I... W-we -!”, obviously, Jean was in no condition to voice his thoughts -which was understandable, really- and he banged his fist on the coffee table to have an outlet for his rage.</em>
  <br/>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first I would like to thank wonderful [Clef-Chan](http://oekaki-chan.tumblr.com/) for inspiring me to write this fic! Her drawings of Levi playing the violin ([01](http://oekaki-chan.tumblr.com/post/102174200444/i-love-seeing-levi-playing-a-violin), [02](http://oekaki-chan.tumblr.com/post/89228852779/palette-18)) are awesome and you should go check her out on tumblr!

Prologue

 

The poster showing the upper body of a male person playing the violin fascinated Eren.

“Mummy, what does that poster say?”, the boy asked the woman next to him, curious and with shining eyes.

“It says that there's a famous young violinist having a concert in the next big city from here.”

“A violinist? What is that?”

“That's someone who plays a violin, dear. It's the instrument the man on the poster is holding.”

“Can we go see, mummy?”

“I'm afraid not, Eren. Tickets for a concert like that cost a lot of money. But maybe there are some records of a concert from that man on the internet. When we're home we can look it up if you want to?”, the woman offered her son.

“Yes, please!”, the kid beamed, not at all put off by not being able to go to the concert.

“Mummy? What does a violin sound like? Is it hard to play it?”, Eren bombarded Carla with more questions.

“Well, the sound is hard to describe, you will have to wait until we're home. I can, however, tell you that learning to play the violin takes a lot of hard work and discipline. You have to practice every day for at least an hour and if you want to become really good, like the man on that poster, you have to practice even longer.”

“Waah!”, the boy exclaimed, a look of awe on his face.

Pure admiration and wonder radiated from the little boy while he skipped and hopped along the pavement next to his mother. Carla Jaeger smiled while she watched her young boy enjoy himself.

 

“So, how did you like it, Eren?”, his mother asked him when the video ended and the full screen on her laptop went black.

Erens eyes shone with wonder and delight. For the whole twenty minutes of the video, he had quietly sat next to her, his blue-green eyes fixed on the screen, following every move of the young man standing in the centre of the stage.

“I liked it a lot!”, he finally said, wistfully, “Can I watch it again, mummy?”

Hopeful eyes were looking at her.

“Of course, dear. Here, I'll start it again for you and then I'll go make dinner. When the video is over, please come to help set up the table.”, Carla allowed her son.

“Thanks, you're the best, mummy!”, the boy cheered and bounced a few times on the old couch where they were sitting, before he went back to concentrate on the video.

The woman smiled fondly at her son, restarting the record for him and then went to prepare their dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

Levi sighed when he looked over the set-list Hanji had given to him.

“Do I really have to play those?”, the young man frowned.

It's not that he didn't like playing them, but it was such a _hassle._

“Yes. Your fans like them, so do them a favour and play them, will you? Besides, I didn't pick those, the management did.”, the woman smiled sweetly at him.

The storm-grey eyes of the young man darkened. He hated when she addressed the people listening to his music as his fans. They didn't like him, but his music, and therefore they _should_ be specified as such, not as his. He wanted to point that out -again- but he knew he would only be met by deaf ears.

“Stop sighing and get ready, you grump. You have to be on stage in ten minutes.”, Hanji reminded him and threw a tie in his general direction.

Levi caught it in mid air, schooling his face into a stoic expression. He had been doing this for long enough to know that showing any other expression on stage would just get him more of those so called fans that would rob him off of his precious time after the concert, harassing him for autographs and bombarding him with stupid questions he couldn't be bothered to answer. After a little struggle with his tie -even years later, he still couldn't do them right- Hanji tied it for him, which he allowed her with a frown. Picking up his violin, he send her a short nod before he left his gaderobe to spend the last minutes before the concert in a quieter place. He needed to concentrate and that was nothing he was able to achieve in between the hustle and bustle of people milling around the stage entrance. When the horn informed him that he had only two minutes left, he stretched his hands a last time and left his hiding spot, ready to take the stage.

 

The concert was, to put it simply, exhausting. Even though he had been doing this for the better part of his life, he still wasn't used to the lengthy shows that had to last longer than just an hour. Of course he had a break, but mere ten minutes didn't cut it. He would have to talk about that with the managers. They weren't the ones performing on the stage, so they wouldn't know how exhausting it was to stand there, in the middle of the stage, spotlights shining down on their heads and making them sweat. -Which was gross, by the way.

Levi sighed and put his violin away, careful not to hit anything with the expensive instrument. Thankfully, his gaderobe was empty when he had returned, no sign of Hanji anywhere, so he used what little time he had to himself to relax. God only knew it wouldn't be long before the woman would come back, a horde of his 'admirers' in tow. Oh, how he was looking forward to that!

 

 

 

 

 

“Hey, little one! Why are you crying?”, a woman had knelt in front of him, looking at him with concern in her eyes.

Eren sniffled and frowned.

“I am not crying! I just got something in my eyes!”, the boy tried to hold on to his dignity.

“Of course! Do you want a tissue?”, the woman smiled and the boy only now noted that she was wearing glasses.

“Yes, please.”

Eren knew he probably looked gross with his snotty nose.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you, lady.”, he blew his nose.

“So, what are you doing back here? Children shouldn't be here.”, the kind woman wanted to know.

“I.. kind of... got lost?”, the child offered, looking distressed.

“Oh my! Poor little one! Come with me, then. I'll help you to get back! Oh -you have been watching the concert, right? Would you like to meet Levi?”

“Levi?”

“The man performing on the stage! You have seen him, haven't you?”

The boys eyes lit up.

“Of course I have! That's why I've come here!”, he smiled widely, “Oh, but I probably shouldn't. I'm sure it's not okay for me, and I should go back to mummy.”, he added as an afterthought.

“No, it's fine! I'm a friend of his, so he can't say anything! And then we'll help you to get back to your mother!”

 

Levi frowned at the kid Hanji had shown up with.

“What is that?”, he asked her, completely ignorant of the fact that the little boy could hear him just fine.

“Not what -who, Levi. His name is Eren. I found him. Isn't he a cute little one?”, Hanji cooed, looking fondly at the child standing half a step behind her -probably trying to hide from Levis menacing glare.

“No, he's not. Now, bring him back to where you found him. I don't have time for this!”

“Oh, but you do. I know you like cute things!”, the woman teased and Eren frowned.

He wasn't cute! He was six years old already -way too old to be called cute! He was about to point that out, when the violinist spoke again.

“Hanji, I swear to every fucking god there is, I'm going to murder you one of these days, if you keep that up! Besides, I'm not a fucking lolicon!”, he hissed.

Eren wondered what a lolicon could possibly be. Maybe he should ask?

“Language, Levi!”, Hanji reminded him with a frown of her own, though she didn't loose her cheerfulness, “You're not going to murder me, and we both know that! Now, will you help me look for this cute little boys' mother?”

The boy tried to look as mature as possible for a six year old. It ended to be an incredibly cute mixture of hopeful, big blue-green puppy eyes looking at Hanji and Levi alike, while he fiddled with the hem of his dress-shirt. He really looked cute. Levi gave a heavy sigh -a sign of defeat, really- and grumbled something about Hanji owing him.

“Okay. You take care of the brat and I'll go to the reception up front to tell them we found him. Maybe his mother already asked if someone found him. What did you say was his name again?”

Hanji looked at the boy in question, wanting him to answer for himself.

“It's Eren. Eren Jaeger, sir. ”, the boy offered carefully.

The glare of those grey eyes directed at him didn't make it exactly easy for him to speak. He felt intimidated. Thankfully -or not so much, depends on your point of view- Levi left after that, no longer acknowledging Hanji or the little boy beside her.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To save you from any questions you may have:  
> Eren is, as mentioned above, six years old.  
> Levi is 12 years older, he just turned 19.  
> I don't play the violin myself, but I have a friend who does, so I guess my info about violin-related stuff should mostly be accurate. If not, please correct me! 
> 
> Aside from that, I'm not sure about a schedule for updates or how regularly they will come. I'm writing two other fics right now, and I prioritize those over this one, so please bear with longer periods without an update.  
> Also, I'm no native speaker, so there might have been some mistakes in there somewhere ^^"
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this little sneak-peak of what is to come!


	2. Chapter 2

Eren sighed, staring at the screen in front of him and not knowing what to think of what he just saw. Or better: heard. He had just finished watching the newest song of Rivaille's. It had been published minutes ago and he had listened to it twice now -just to be sure he was right.

“Mikasa? Can you come here for a second? I need your opinion!” Eren called for his stepsister, who was probably somewhere else in their small flat.

“What is it, Eren?” she came walking up to him, looking slightly concerned.

Instead of an answer, the young man slid his headphones off and set them on his sister's ears.

“Just listen. You'll hear for yourself!” he frowned and clicked play on the video again.

While the video played, he watched Mikasa intently, her expressions going from curious to intrigued to blank and from there to realization and anger.

“I don't believe it!” her voice was low, cold, and all Eren could do was nod in agreement.

“Me neither. That is basically our song he's playing there. -Yes, he adapted it a little,” W _ell, more like butchered it,_ Eren thought, “but it's still ours. Who does that guy think he is?!”

Eren's anger flared up and he fought the urge to hit something. He really couldn't believe it! That guy had the guts to steal their music!

“I know, I heard it! We have to show this to the others, make it public, confront that midget!” Mikasa seethed, already grabbing for her brothers phone to make an emergency call to their little group of friends.

“And just what good would that do?! Confronting him, I mean! Mikasa, he is a _fuckin' worldstar!_ We are just a few measly college seniors -he can crush us with just a flick of his wrist and a whole pack of lawyers he doesn't even have to pay for himself! We would gain nothing from this!”

When he ended his tirade his phone went off, just before his sister could call any of his friends.

“It's Armin.” she informed him, looking at the caller's ID.

“Take it. And put him on loudspeaker.”

Mikasa nodded and did as he bid her.

“Eren? Oh my god! I just saw that new video of Rivaille's! -You did, too, right? Right?! I can't believe it!” his best friend rattled off, before Eren got even one word out.

“Yes, I did. I can't believe he actually steals music from innocent people who can't do anything against it!” Eren growled, frowning at his phone.

“We need to do something about this, and quick, too! Mikasa is with you now, right? See that you call the others and let them come over. We're having an emergency meeting right now. I'll be over there in a few.”

“We were just about to call you, too, actually.” Mikasa elaborated, now a lot calmer than before.

She had managed to cool down.

“Good, see you in a few, then. And leave the door open, will you?”

“Always for you,” Eren chuckled, despite his still boiling anger.

“Can you call them, Mikasa? I'll go prepare something for the mob.” he asked his sister, getting up from his seat.

Mikasa nodded, having already cancelled Armin's call and pulling up another contact info.

 

 

 

 

The last notes of the song floated through Levi's penthouse and he allowed himself a small smile. No one would see it, so it was fine. He had just found an interesting young violinist on Youtube and now he was listening to his -or her- music nonstop when he wasn't practising himself or had other stuff to do. However, he hadn't had the chance to listen to all of the videos yet. But whoever that person was -Levi was interested. He wanted to learn more about this mysterious person, had even left a few comments on the videos he had already seen -though each of them just showed a simple black screen with a short greeting and a _thanks for listening!_ at the end. There was no other sound in the videos beside the recorded violin and the occasional white noise. No voice, nothing hinted at the gender of the person. Even the profile was completely empty, except for what Levi guessed where the person's initials, E.J. And that could mean anything from Emma Jenkins to Eduard Jokel! The violinist frowned. He needed to work on his imagination.

So far, he hadn't received any answers to his comments, though. Nothing indicated that they had even been seen yet. Levi grumbled. He wanted at least some kind of reaction from that person! Sure, he hadn't said who he was -that would have drawn too much attention to him and he didn't want that- but from what he had seen in the comment section of those videos, most of the comments where answered in a matter of a few hours. It irked him to wait, he had to admit, but he decided against checking _yet again_. He had done that earlier when he had his tea and his laptop on his coffee table and enjoyed his break from practising his newest piece. Maybe there would be an answer later tonight -he hadn't given up hope quite yet.

 

Message from E.J:  
Thanks for all the comments on my records! I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier (I was out with friends until just now). I'm glad you like my songs! Also, you seem to be quite familiar with violins? Do you play, too?

 

Levi's lips curved into a small half-smile when he saw that comment on his latest one. Looking at the timestamp of the answer and then at his watch, he wondered if he would get an immediate reply if he answered now. His hope was crushed, though. The comment had been written hours ago. He sighed and decided to give his answer not in another comment for the whole world to see, but in a private message. Not because he feared anyone would guess his identity through an openly held comment-conversation about violins and his experience in general, but because he liked his privacy and didn't want to share it with everyone. He did that more than enough with his music when he played on the big stages of the world.

 

 

 

 

Not even half an hour later the whole band had come together in Eren's and Mikasa's small living room. And while Armin, Mikasa and Eren knew what this impromptu meeting was about, the others were still oblivious and discussed the matter in a jokingly manner. Even though they could feel something was off, and terribly so.

“So? What do you think this is about?” Jean asked Marco, who sat next to him.

“I have no idea,” Marco shrugged.

“Yo, Eren! Mind sharing why you called us all over to meet at your dingy excuse of a flat?” Jean called over to Eren, who just came into the room, carrying a few glasses and a bottle of Soda in his arms.

By now, his anger was only a simmering flame inside of him. After they had called everyone he and Mikasa had done a little research on how Rivaille supposedly came to play their song -which by the way left them as clueless as before- and he then had cooled off by torturing his ears with one of his favourite 'anger-management-songs' (as which Mikasa and Armin had dubbed it once) on full volume. ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eFEk_hxXNU))

“Wait a minute, will you? Mikasa is just getting the laptop.” he eventually answered, frowning at his friends.

They all looked confused to some degree, but decided not to say anything and wait it out.

“Thanks for coming over on such short notice,” the girl spoke when she entered the room, carrying Eren's laptop with her and setting it down on the coffee table.

Their friends eyed the laptop curiously, while Mikasa made some adjustments and Eren poured them their drinks.

“Okay, can everyone see?” Mikasa wanted to know and waited for affirmation from their friends, before she clicked the video to fullscreen and started it.

Leaning back, she and her brother watched the reactions of their friends closely. Marco's face showed silent disbelief -his jaw hanging slack open- when he realized what was going on, while Jean's face contorted to barely hidden anger and Annie clenched her jaw, biting her lips. Armin, who already knew, watched the video with a neutral expression, though everyone who looked at him close enough could see the suppressed anger in his bright blue eyes.

“This! That -! I... W-we -!”, obviously, Jean was in no condition to voice his thoughts -which was understandable, really- and he banged his fist on the coffee table to have an outlet for his rage.

“Hey!” Eren glared at him and Marco had to put a hand on Jean's arm to get him to calm down.

“That little fucker! Who does he even think he is?!” Jean growled.

None of the others had an answer for him, though they all looked like were thinking of one or the other fitting insult for the man who stole their music.

“This is unbelievable!” Marco shook his head, still in shock over the matter and Annie nodded, silently agreeing to him.

“This is definitively our song, though butchered and fucked up,” Armin voiced out what everyone thought and all of them nodded in agreement.

“It is.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

All of them mumbled their confirmation.

“So? What are we going to do about this?” Mikasa questioned them, looking each of them in the eyes.

“Make it public!” was Jean's first idea, to which Armin and Annie both shook their heads.

The two blonds wanted to a avoid a public uproar if it was possible.

“That is not a good idea, seeing as that midget is a world famous violinist. He can crush us in an instant, if he wished to.” Mikasa repeated Eren's words from earlier.

 “He can try! We aren't the ones in the wrong here! He can't do shit against us! We have proof!”

“Yeah, about that...” Eren spoke up for the first time since the video had finished.

Within a second all eyes were on him.

“Our biggest proof would have been our video of the song, right?” he looked at all of them, “Well, Youtube put it down sometime tonight. The reason was apparently some copyright infringement with the song that played for the credits. Mikasa and I didn't even notice the video was down until we checked for it after we heard Rivaille's song, though. They didn't even send a warning or something. They just completely deleted it, as if it never existed in the first place!”

The longer he talked, the angrier he got. His friends just gawked at him.

“What the fuck?! You're making this up, aren't you? Don't fuck with us, Eren!”, this time it wasn't Jean to voice out his disbelief, but Armin.

This was something he hadn't known before, either.

“Eren, you know you need to send something to the administration and ask about this, right?” Annie inquired of him.

“I already did. Now we have to wait.”

The blond nodded.

“Okay. Now, didn't you upload the song on your private channel, too? Have you checked if that version is still online?”

Eren's eyes widened in realization. He had totally forgotten about that! In one quick movement he picked up his laptop from the table and pulled up the site of his personal channel. He quickly scrolled through the videos he had uploaded, not noticing that his friends had become dead silent while they waited for any kind of revelation. After a few seconds -which felt like hours to all of them- the brunet deflated, his features visibly relaxing.

“It's still there. _Thank god!_ ” he groaned and leant back on the couch, pushing his laptop on his knees.

A sigh of relieve went through the group of friends.

“Thank god, yes. Then we can actually do something,” Annie grumbled.

 

 

 

 

 

 “Levi!” Hanji dragged the 'i' of his name to a ridiculous lengths and practically jumped him when he arrived at the concert hall.

“Hanji, what the fuck?!” he groaned and barely managed to avoid the bear hug the woman intended to give him.

“Oh come on, grumpy! It's good to see you again! You have spent way too much time holed up in your apartment lately! You need to go out more!”

“Oh no, I don't.” Levi glared at her, adjusted the case of his violin on his back and made to step past the woman.

“Spoilsport! What would your fans say, if they knew?” she teased and Levi rolled his eyes, annoyed.

“You know I couldn't care less about them. Now, let's get going. Wasn't there a press conference you pushed on me?” he wanted to know, just now remembering that bothersome fact.

“Indeed, there is!” Hanji cheered and rushed to push him into the building.

“They can't wait to discuss your new album with you! Ooh! I can't wait! This is going to be an awesome day!” she babbled and Levi tuned her out after the first two words.

He knew she wouldn't stop anyway, regardless of what he'd say to her to shut up. Hanji simply wasn't fazed by his moods and glares, she knew him for far too long to still be afraid of him. They had been friends since their middle school days, when she first discovered that Levi played the violin. Well, more or less, that is. She just kept on bugging him until he grudgingly accepted her presence. He had to admit by now, that Hanji was irreplaceable not only as his best friend, but also as his first choice violin maker. Whenever one of his babies ( _yes_ , he called his violins his babies) had troubles, she was the only one allowed to fix them up again. Sometimes he had the feeling Hanji could work magic with her hands, but of course he would never say that out loud. He had a suspicion that she knew what he thought about her, though, and was just thankful she never brought it up.

The meeting with the press went fairly well for Levis standards -until one of the reporters asked a question he would've never thought he would ever be asked.

“So, Rivaille, is it true that you actually _stole_ music from unsuspecting artists on Youtube?”

What the hell?! He sat there, shell-shocked, heard the annoying clicks of cameras', saw the flashlights they made whenever they took a picture of him. Luckily he had managed to keep his features in check, so he showed no other expression than his usual stoic one. After a deep breath he sought out the man who had asked that question and looked directly at him.

“What do you mean by that, pray tell?” his voice was cold and the reporter gulped, visibly intimidated by Levi's demeanour.

“Uhm, it's just... I saw a post on your official Facebook page, saying that you stole a song for your album from a college band and I wondered if that is true? I mean, I researched the band and everything, but...” the man trailed off, obviously not intending to finish his explanation, since Levi's glare had become more and more menacing with each and every word that left the man's mouth.

“I wouldn't know about that, since I'm not the one running that page, as you all should know.” Levi allowed himself a small frown while he looked over the gathered people, “I will look into that matter, though. Could you come to me after this shit is over so we can talk about this in private?”

That wasn't a question and the reporter knew it.

“But of course, Rivaille.” he agreed, visibly tensing.

As it was bound to happen, after that a lot more questions about this matter came flooding him and the violinist had a hard time keeping the reporters at bay, while simultaneously sorting through all the info he got in his mind. He would have to check the page for that post first and then talk to Hanji and that reporter, and preferably in that order.

Thank god the conference didn't last much longer so as soon as he could excuse himself from that mass of people, he left, followed closely by Hanji. Once they were in the safety that was his gaderobe, he turned to her.

“Your laptop. Now.” he ordered and the woman knew better than to oppose him.

Besides, she was as curious about that matter as Levi himself. She quickly started it up and opened Levi's official Facebook page without him having to tell her. They scrolled in silence through the latest comments on that site, reading every post carefully.

“There!” Hanji cried out and pointed at the post at the bottom of the page, quickly scrolling it higher so they could read the whole thing.

“Try the link that person put in there,” Levi advised Hanji and she followed it without hesitation.

A Page to a Youtube channel opened up in a new tab. Levi scanned the site for any information on the band, but he found barely anything at all except for their name and which state they were from.

“There is not exactly much info there.” Hanji observed and Levi nodded.

“Yes. I doubt these kids made that post, though. That must have been someone else.”

Now it was Hanji's turn to agree.

“Yes. They don't make the impression of doing something so reckless. They wouldn't want to have those bloodhounds of reporters on their tails.” she ventured a guess.

“Indeed...” Levi mumbled, thinking about something.

“We should still check if that accusation is true, though. Start the videos.”

They spent the next twenty minutes clicking through the band's videos and Levi's mood sunk. That reporter hadn't made up the thing about that post, that much was clear, but there was not a single song from them that was even remotely similar to any of the ones on his new album. Besides, an hour prior he hadn't even known about this group of college students and their music. How could he have stolen anything from them?

“Oh, look! They just uploaded a new video!” Hanji piped up, already clicking on it.

Levi waited patiently for the thing to buffer and then play.

 

 

 

 

 

 “Eren, are you sure you don't want to talk for yourself?” Armin wanted to know for what felt like the hundredths time.

“ _Yes, I am sure, Armin._ You know as well as I do that I wouldn't be able to stay calm. It's better if you do it.”

Mikasa nodded. She knew her stepbrother's antics better than anyone and could easily tell he was right with this one.

“Okay then. I will do the talking. But you'll have to be in the video, if you want to or not. This is not just another song we're recording. This is about all of us, and especially about you, since you wrote that song. People need to see you, even if they won't know who you are right away. Well, most of them, anyways.”

“But it's not like they won't figure it out soon enough, either. He _is_ the only one missing in our videos.” Jean threw in.

“Yeah. They're no idiots. They can put one and two together and come to the conclusion that you must be our violinist.”

Eren sighed.

“ _I know._ Can we please get on with this charade now?” he frowned and everyone nodded.

They had changed locations after they had decided what they wanted to do about the whole matter and went to their music basement. It was a small, rented room in a basement, a few blocks away from their college and in convenient distance to each of their homes and they shared the costs for it. Down here they could play and record their music undisturbed, though until now they had never actually made a video.

The camera was set up in front of their ruddy old couch, where all of them huddled together, with Armin in their middle. Eren and Mikasa sat on either sides of him and next to Mikasa sat Jean and Annie, while Marco chose the spot next to Eren on the armrest. All of them looked somewhat stoic, serious, though in their eyes shone the fire of people that were ready to fight. Armin took a deep breath, then counted down from three and hit the record-button on the remote. The blond spent a few words to their audience, thanking them for their support so far, as well for pointing out the music theft to them (not that they hadn't been aware of that already).

“As some of you might have already noticed, Youtube actually deleted our video of the song tonight, just a few hours before Rivaille's album was to be published. We haven't been informed or warned about that before. However, we didn't notice that it had been deleted until our violinist discovered the theft. As you might know, he is a huge fan of Rivaille's music, so you can probably imagine just how shocked he was to hear a -sorry in advance for my choice of words- fucked up, sorry excuse of his song on that album. I'm not saying that what Rivaille did with it is bad, but you know the original. You know how it should sound. And his version lacks that sound. Well, back to the topic. Due to the deletion of our video, which happened so _conveniently_ just before that album release earlier today, our main proof of us being the original creators of the song went flying out of the window, you might think. It didn't, actually.”

At this point, Armin's face showed a small, but mischievous smile, but it vanished pretty quickly. He couldn't help but take a look at Eren, to once again confirm his approval of what he was going to say next.

“We still have the data of that video and we plan on uploading it again later today. Though that might not exactly proof anything, there are some things in that video that most of you should be able to date back a few years. For whom that alone is not enough proof that this is indeed _our_ song, please follow the link we have included in the video description. It will redirect you to the private channel of our violinist, or better, to a video of him playing the song solo. The date on which that video was uploaded should be proof enough for everyone to believe that we are telling the truth. Also, _we do plan to get into contact with Rivaille personally_ to sort this thing out, so please don't go out there and start harassing him with hate-mails and stuff. Let us deal with this matter. We appreciate your support so far and will keep you updated on this whole ordeal.”

With that Armin ended their statement and ended the record. All of them visibly relaxed after that and patted the blond on the shoulders.

“You did well, Armin.” Mikasa approved and everyone agreed.

“Now all that is left is uploading it. Should we watch it first or do we just put it out there?” Marco wanted to know.

“Just upload it. The sooner, the better, I say!” Jean answered and actually found backup in Annie and Eren nodding to his words.

“Okay then. Just a second!” Armin agreed and went about uploading the video and typing in the description. He almost forgot the link to Eren's channel though and had to be reminded by Mikasa.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo! A chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! :)  
> Yes, I know there wasn't much of interaction between Levi and Eren, but it's coming, it's coming. I promise! Please bear with me and my shitty schedules until then, since I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I'm working on this one only when I feel like it and just for my own enjoyment, so don't expect me to ever come up with any kind of regular update-plan for it, okay? ^^"  
> Also, I'm not yet revealing what instrument is played by whom. You'll have to wait until I mention it in later chapters :P  
> Thanks in advance for putting up with me!
> 
> Aside from that; I know that Youtube doesn't just delete videos without a notice in advance (at least I haven't heard of such a case before), I just chose to make it that way for the sake of the story, so please don't bother pointing that out to me, okay? :D
> 
> Also!  
> *throws hugs and kisses at all the wonderful people who have left comments and kudos until now* I<3u!


	3. Chapter 3

“...plan to get into contact with Rivaille personally to sort this thing out, so please don't go out there and start harassing him with hate-mails and stuff. Let us deal with this matter. We appreciate your support so far and will keep you updated on this whole ordeal.” the voice of the blond guy in the middle of the group proclaimed at the end of their just uploaded video.

Levi didn't believe what he just heard, looking at the group of people on the screen with a blank expression. Even Hanji was quiet for a few seconds in order to sort through her jumbled thoughts.

“How...is that possible?” she finally wanted to know and Levi shrugged.

“I have no idea. This is the first time I heard of this band. Anyway, let's see that video of their violinist. I want to make sure.”

“Oh, yeah. Of course, Levi.” Hanji nodded and followed the link in the video description.

In the few seconds it took for the page to load, Levi thought about the options he had now and didn't pay too much attention to the screen. He had no clue how he could have possibly stolen music from this -admittedly pretty good- college band, and he had to agree with them that the deletion of their video of the song (he _still_ didn't know which one) happened a little too conveniently for his behalf. Irked, he bit the inside of his cheeks.

“Oh, it's starting!” Hanji pulled him back to reality and he looked at the video with genuine interest.

It took him no longer than a second to realize whose music he was about to listen to. The starting sequence of the video was too familiar by now, and he didn't exactly need to check for the username, but he did it anyway. E.J. He was supposed to have stolen one of the songs from the violinist whose music he had taken a liking to over the last few days?! No way!

“What the hell?!” he muttered and gritted his teeth, as to not sit there, jaw slack open and staring at the black screen of the video in shock.

Well, he tried, he _really tried_ , but when he heard the first few notes [[x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw5uA7evjfQ)], his face fell. Hanji started babbling a few seconds later.

“That's impossible! Levi! How is that possible?! How can that person play this song? It's barely been published for more than a few hours! Unless this guy's some kind of genius there is no way he could possibly play it, right? Levi! Say something!” she shook him by the shoulder to get some kind of reaction from him at all.

The violinist checked the date of the video-upload -it dated back to the beginning of the previous year- and listened to for a few more seconds, tuning out Hanji's cries of “Levi! Say something!”

When he had heard enough, he paused the video and turned to look at her.

“It is possible for this person to play this song because it is obviously theirs. Look at the date of the upload, Hanji! That was last year.” he frowned, “I have no idea why one of my songs is a cheap copy of this one, though.”

Hanji nodded, checking the date for herself, as he had ordered her to do.

“But... I mean -How?! Levi, how can you play their song if you have obviously never heard of it before?” Hanji pulled at her ponytail in distress before she jumped up and started pacing through the room.

She was obviously thinking of the few possibilities of how this could have happened. Levi thought about that, too, so he didn't bother with an answer. The two of them were quiet for a moment, just to be startled by a knock on the door, informing them that the reporter who revealed this mess to them had finally arrived.

“Okay, let him in!” Levi allowed and the man entered his gaderobe.

 

 

 

 

The video was up and they could practically see how the clicks and likes exploded. Of course there were quite a few dislikes and hateful comments, too, but they tried not to let themselves be bothered by that. They knew they were right, after all.

Eren had excused himself after the video was uploaded, he didn't want to see the comments he knew they would get. He even dreaded logging in to his own Youtube account, now that the official connection to their band was made. He had always enjoyed being his own person and not being judged by the stuff he did together with the others. Of course, he liked the band -hell, he even accepted Jean as their vocalist!- but he had to admit, he liked it more when he played his own songs. However, the others knew that he wasn't doing his own thing because he didn't like them, but because it was just who he was. They knew that from the beginning and accepted it. And for that, Eren was grateful.

At home he immediately went for the case of his electric violin and plugged in his headphones, since what he was about to play would most certainly disturb his neighbours if he used the AMP. He was still angry. During the time with his friends he had somehow managed to keep it down, to play it cool, but he was still boiling inside. With a frown he lifted the instrument to his shoulder, picked up the bow and did a few testing strokes. Good, he didn't have to fine-tune it just yet, he remarked somewhere in the back of his mind and started letting his frustration out. [[x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM4Xy7cUP1w)]

The song he played was pretty fast paced and it had quite the driven feel to it, but that was exactly what Eren needed right now. He played with more force than necessary though and probably wore his bow down in the process, but at the moment he couldn't care less. The music helped him to get the anger out of his system, and after a while his playing calmed down considerably. He was still agitated, yes, but not so much so that he felt the urge to punch something (or someone).

With a deep breath, he put the instrument down and started his laptop. He had left the site of his Youtube channel open earlier, so he was greeted with the information of quite a number of new messages and comments on his video. Eren bit his lip. He absolutely did not want to read the comments (he knew reading most of them would just ending with him becoming angry again) and much less the messages that came flowing in -he could watch the number count increase every other second.

Sighing, he decided he would at least check if that guy who had written him a few days ago had answered his comment by now. Sadly, there was no new comment beneath his last one, so he assumed the other one either hadn't come around to checking for a reply or hadn't had the time to write an answer so far. But, when he remembered correctly, there had been a message in his inbox earlier today, even before they had uploaded their statement. Maybe it was worth checking that message? He thought about it for a moment and decided to give it a shot. Couldn't be too bad, right? And he didn't need to look at all the other subjects and the previews of the written texts, he just had to look out for that specific username.

 

Message from L. Ackermann:

I've been playing the violin since I can remember, and that's quite a while. I'm not particularly talented, though. It's just something I've practised for years, so it's kind of natural for me by now. How long do you play? From the songs I heard already, you seem to be quite young, since a lot of them are covers or interpretations of recently popular ones.

 

Eren frowned. He had an answer, but he had to say, he didn't quite like the interest the other person seemed to have taken in him. He wasn't even that special! Maybe he could manoeuvre around those assumption and question somehow?

 

 

 

 

“Of course we can't force him to stay quiet about this matter, and I'm pretty sure the other reporters will write about this, too, Rivaille.” Hanji reminded him and Levi nodded.

“I know that. This is going to be blown out of proportion in no time. I just hope those brats can manage somehow.” he agreed, looking at the man in front of him.

“I promise I won't write anything compromising for either you or that college band, Rivaille. And I will send you the final version of the article before it gets published, so we can change things, if it's not to your liking.” the eager reporter promised.

Levi's storm grey eyes zeroed in on the man, and just like before at the conference, the guy had to gulp down air because he was about to freak out. Hanji punched the violinist in the back.

“Hey, don't try to murder him with your glare! I think that what he said is the best course of action for now.”

“Tch” Levi clicked his tongue.

Of course it was, he knew that. It just irked him that he had a piece of music on his newest album that obviously wasn't his, and he still didn't know _how_ that was even possible in the first place.

“I suppose that's fine.” he grumbled and with that, the reporter was dismissed, so Hanji and him were alone again.

“Levi? You know we need to figure out how this could've happened. And you need to inform Nile. He needs to know about this.” the woman remembered him and Levi nodded yet again.

“Yeah, I know. It's just- Hanji...” the violinist mulled over his next words for far longer than he would have liked, but he couldn't find the right words, to make what he was going to say sound less ominous than it actually was.

“Yes, my dearest grump?” she gently urged him on, noticing that whatever he was about to say was important and that she'd better listen to it.

“Hanji, I've been talking to that guy for the last few days. And _I didn't know._ I haven't even heard all of his songs yet! If I've had taken the time to listen to all of them, this disaster could have been avoided! And he doesn't know he's talking to me! If he finds out-! Hanji!” Levi all but whined and dragged the 'i' of Hanji's name out to a ridiculous lengths.

He was surprised by his own outburst, though, since he usually didn't show his emotions so openly.

“Bullshit! The album was recorded ages ago!” Hanji pointed out.

“I know. But if I had known, I could have cancelled the publication date and take care of this mess properly, before it gets out into the media!”

Levi felt lucky that for the moment, his best friend didn't seem to want to latch on to the topic of his personal crisis. -Which actually should be unnerving for him, really. Years of knowing her should have taught him that, at least.

“And got rid of the song, I suppose? You know Nile wouldn't have allowed that. He's been pushing this album as much as you did, if not more. If he knew of this, I'm sure he'd have contacted the band and worked out some kind of contract with them. Maybe he'd even buy the rights to the song, who knows?”

“Yeah, well, and he'd do it for a give-away-price, too, totally underprivileging them and their music. You know that as well as I do.”

The woman nodded in agreement. Yeah, she knew that. They both knew Nile's ways a little too well, to be completely honest. But there was no way around it, since he was Levi's manager. He had to be cunning and good at getting the best deals for Levi. Not that the violinist couldn't handle himself -he could- but it was usually the better idea to let Nile take care of things. Speaking of...

“Levi,” Hanji spoke his name softly, for a second sounding like she was deep in thought.

“Levi,” she said again, when he didn't react immediately, this time in a more urgent tone.

“What is it, Hanji?” he finally gave her the notion that he was listening to her.

“Levi. Didn't Nile give you the sheets to this song, saying that some person anonymously sent it to him, asking him if he would have you look at it? I think he mentioned something like that, didn't he?” she still spoke quietly and with the same urgency from before, but her eyes were fierce and Levi could see anger arising in them.

Hanji hardly ever got angry, but if she did, shit hit the fan, one could say. However, before he answered her, he thought about her words for a moment.

Nile had indeed been the one to give him this song's music sheets, but Levi had made him swear that he had the permission to play and record this song, if he wished to do so, before they actually started recording the album.

“He said he had permission from the writer. I've never seen it, though.” he eventually revealed to her.

“Wait -did you just say it was someone unknown? How can he have a permission, then?!” Levi realized.

Wide-eyed, Hanji looked at him.

“No way,” she exclaimed, “you don't mean to say that Nile -!”

 

 

 

 

 

It had taken Eren a while and some thinking, before he typed an answer to that unknown violinist. He had checked his channel, but found nothing there. Only his username, the state he apparently lived in and a ton of liked and shared videos of people playing the violin. There were a lot of Eren's own original songs in between, too. But there wasn't even one video upload there, nothing that would show him how this unknown person played. From what little he could get his hands on, however, he could tell that this person was most likely some guy in his thirties with an obsession over violins. Not that Eren cared -not really- but he had to admit, he was kind of curious. This must be what it felt like for other people when they browsed his channel. Well, at least he shared his music with them, right? (Not that that had led to anything good, judged by the latest developments.) His curiosity got the best of him, so when he typed out his answer to the man, he asked about his playing and if he could maybe hear it sometime.

 

In the meantime, the other members of their band were still at their basement, going through comment after comment on their video statement, discussing most of them, answering a few and trying to ignore those that held hateful meanings.

It wasn't easy though. Jean was seething with anger by now and even Annie, who was indifferent most of the time, looked ready to kill someone. Marco looked the least angry, but one could never tell what was beneath his calm demeanour. He hardly ever got angry and none of them had actually seen him like that before. They all were kind of anticipating it on one hand, but on the other they dreaded it. Mikasa was the scariest of them all, though. The dark haired girl was absolutely calm on the outside. She looked nothing like she could tear down a whole building in seconds if she chose to do so, like Eren did when he was angry (that is not meant to say that she _couldn't,_ because she _could,_ and it was probably more likely to be her than Eren doing it). No. She was calm and collected and her cold, nonchalant way of doing things, even when fuming with anger, made her that much more fearsome than anyone else in their group. For now her anger seemed to be directed at those unknown people that hid behind stupid Aliases and anonymous comments though, so neither of the friends or that thieving violinist would need to be afraid of her for now. Not that the thieving guy knew that, anyway.

Armin was the one typing their comments. Since Eren had decided that the blond should be the one in charge of speaking for their band in the video, it had automatically been assumed that he was the one to take care of their statements from now on, too. They all trusted him with this and knew he would do better than any of them could, since Armin was the smartest and at the same time the one with the kindest heart. He knew what and how he could say things without offending or abasing someone else. There was nothing they needed to worry about. Every so often, the blond would check Eren's channel, too, noticing the rising amount of clicks, likes and dislikes his video got, as well as all those new comments. He hoped Eren wouldn't react to the most hateful ones of those. Though at the moment it didn't look like he was answering any of them, not even seeing them in the first place. The blond could only hope that Eren wouldn't do anything stupid until Mikasa got back to their little apartment and could keep an eye on him.

They stayed in their basement until late that evening, going through more comments and thinking up ways on how to best contact the thieving violinist. Looking up his website had brought them nothing but a number to a service-line where they could order autographs and the like. Nowhere was a number to contact him or his management. And the email-address given was likely handled by some other employee that had nothing to do with Rivaille in person, too.

They were about to give up and head home when another personal mail popped up in their channels Inbox, and Armin, being curious and at least wanting to know what this one was about now, clicked to open it.

 

 

 

Levi was seething with anger. He couldn't get in touch with Nile, which was unusual in itself, and the guy seemed to have vanished from the face of earth entirely. Phone calls went directly to his voicemail and no one seemed to know where the manager was or what his plans were for today. Levi had half a mind of just going over to Nile's apartment, but he had a feeling that wouldn't change anything, either. And the manager's office was empty, too. The guy was nowhere to be found.

After Hanji had voiced her concerns about Nile and where he said he'd got the song, she and Levi had left the building where the press conference had been held. Hanji didn't didn't want to leave him alone right now, it seemed. And it was understandable, too. If he were, he'd probably be going to get a panic attack because he kept on overthinking things. Hell, he'd probably get one, anyway, if Nile didn't show up any time soon! Levi groaned.

“I can't believe he did that! Now I wonder which other of my songs are stolen, too!” he fumed, yanking on the seatbelt of his car.

Hanji, who sat next to him in the passenger's seat, gave him a sympathetic look.

“That's a thing we need to find out. But first we need to find Nile. And then we need to get into contact with that band. We should also schedule another press conference to make an official statement when we have talked to those guys.”

Levi nodded. Of course everything she said made perfect sense to him, but he couldn't help but think about his own personal misery.

Should he tell that violinist that they had been talking to each other for a couple of days now before this mess happened? Should he risk his anonymity for something like this? Well, knowing his luck, that information probably would get out sooner rather than later, anyway. So if he was honest, he'd rather enjoy it while it lasted. Talking to that guy was kind of refreshing and a welcome distraction from his everyday life. Of course that reason was selfish and not exactly the right thing to do, but he had acknowledged the possible consequences and decided he was willing to take the risk and face his punishment, if worst came to worst.

“I just want to know what was going on in that head of his when he gave that song's sheets to me. Did he really think he could get away with something like that?” Levi wondered after a while of brooding silence, when they had almost arrived at his home.

“Who knows... I for one have no idea. Your music was always better than good. You don't need to play songs that aren't yours.” Hanji agreed.

“ _I know._ That's why I can't wrap my head around it, though. What has gotten into him to do something like this?!” he grumbled, “That shitty bastard! Does he want to ruin me or what?”

Hanji hummed, showing her support on his opinion, but not saying anything else until they were in his apartment. It was spotless as ever. -Not that she'd have expected anything else. Levi had been a clean-freak ever since she met him back in their school days -and had been probably even before that. And while she wasn't as clinical-clean as Levi, she had still learned to appreciate it. But that didn't mean she wouldn't make a mess of things just to mess with her favourite grumpy violinist.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first things first:  
> 1\. Of course I had to make Eren be the 'creator' of Guren no Yumiya, though I imagine him playing it without the actual song in the background. I couldn't find a good version with only the violin, though, so the linked version will have to do :/ For the band though, you can imagine this version :)  
> 2\. I imagine Levi's version of the song as somewhat slower and with mixed up parts and 'wrong' notes in between. Therefore his version of course has to sound weaker in general. I like to think that they had to change parts for him because he has smaller hands than Eren and thus has problems with some of the handhelds that are used. Of course that is not exactly proven fact -just my own headcanon, really, but I will stick to that reason for the story :)  
> 3\. Eren's electric violin is [this one](http://www.thomann.de/thumb/bdbmagic/pics/bdb/285305/6053146_800.jpg). Nothing flashy, but it's kinda cool, I think. You have to take a closer look to see the details :3 I know this is not a Yamaha, but I wanted to keep it as realistic as possible, so there is no way in hell Eren owns an Instrument that costs over 1000$. He's a poor collegekid, remember?
> 
> Okay. Now that that's out of the way, come at me with everything else you got! :D  
> I'm open for anything from paising me to the heavens to hellish critique! -Nah, joke x) Of course I welcome every kind of comments, but please don't go overboard on me, okay? ^^"  
> I know there are a few things that might not exactly make sense right now, but its 2am and I can't be bothered to check for those. I will when I'm more capable of doing that and then update he chapter accordingly. Until then you'll have to deal with this version ^^  
> I hope you enjoyed it, by the way ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> I know it's been a while, but here is the next chapter :)  
> I decided to put all the mails and messages in italics to make it easier to differentiate them from the normal text.  
> Oh, and I do have a little kind-of-announcement to make, but that will be in the notes at the end ^^"  
> Aside from that, go and have fun reading :)

Even hours later, Nile still was nowhere to be found and though Levi was nothing but persistent, he knew when to give up. If Nile didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be found. And Levi sure as hell had better things to do than search all day for that bastard.

When evening came, he and Hanji had decided to take matters in their own hands. That meant that Levi would contact the band himself and also that he would tell the violinist just who he had been talking to over the last few days. Hanji had advised him to do so, even if he'd rather not do it just yet. He saw her point though, so he did as he was told. First, they worked on his official mail to the band. It wasn't exactly easy to keep it neutral and honest at the same time, but somehow they managed. Levi had to tell Hanji off a few times when she suggested they should just offer their souls to them as apology (he guessed the had meant it as a joke though), but over all, the outcome was passable, he decided. He read over the mail again, before he would be sending it on its way.

 

_Hello Titans,_

_this is Rivaille writing. Today at the press conference regarding my new album it was pointed out to me that one of the songs apparently wasn't mine._

_To tell you the truth, I was shocked. Needless to say, I looked into the matter as soon as I had the chance to and tried to find out if that accusation was true or just something else those vultures made up._

_At first I really didn't want to believe it, much like you, too, probably. After you posted your latest video on your Youtube Channel, it was pretty much obvious that one of the songs on the album indeed is a 'sorry excuse' of one of your violinist's original songs, as you so fittingly put it._

_I believe this situation calls for more than just a simple apology, which is why I plan to equally share what earn with this album with you. Of course I first have to discuss this with my management, but with things being as they are I don't think this would be a problem. I would also appreciate it if we could settle this matter without involving the law. I think neither of us would like to go to court for this._

_Also, I will correct the copyright of the song so it states your band (or your violinist, you choose) and I will make a public announcement to this matter once we came to an agreement._

_I would also like to inform you that I am still looking into the matter of how this situation came to be in the first place. Please believe me when I say I had no intention of stealing your music and didn't even know about your band until this morning._

_I am just as appalled by all this as you are and I don't think I could apologize to you enough to make up for this mess, but I will try. If there is anything you ever need, please feel free to just ask me and I will see what I can do for you._

_Also, please use this email-address to contact me. This is my private address, so there are no other people included._

_I look forward to hear from you soon._

_With kind regards,_

_Rivaille_

 

“I think this is okay. What do you say, Hanji?”

“Yeah. There's nothing else you could say at this point. We first need to solve the matter with Nile before we can tell those kids about our suspicion.” Hanji agreed.

“Okay. Ill send it, then.” Levi nodded and clicked the 'send'-button before either of them could change their mind again.

“Now we can only hope those kids are an agreeable bunch.” he sighed and leant back on his couch.

“Oh, I wouldn't think too bad of them if I were you. Remember that they called their fans off from shitstorming you. And that blond kid that spoke in their video was nothing but polite the whole time. I don't think we need to fear anything from them on that matter. I'm sure they'll be happy over your suggestion of sharing the money made with the album.”

“If you say so.” he muttered in response, not entirely convinced, “Now, I still need to write to that violinist. Care to make dinner if you keep hanging around my place? Go and make yourself useful.” He waved her off and she sauntered off to the kitchen without another word.

She knew that the mail he was about to write now was his private matter and that she shouldn't pry. That didn't mean she wasn't curious, though. However, he would eventually tell her how it went, anyway.

Once Levi could hear his best friend clatter around in his kitchen, he opened Youtube and opened his private channel. To his surprise, there was an email in his inbox, and from the kid, too.

 

_Message from E.J:_

_You have practised for years? Can I assume that you are an old man, then? Though on second thought, you can't be that old if you know how to use a computer. Probably just a few years older than me... Anyway._

_I don't know if you heard yet, but do you know Rivaille, that famous violinist? One of my songs is on his newest album, can you believe it? He is some music stealing bastard! I wonder how many other unsuspecting musicians he's done that to, too?!_

_I still can't believe it! When I listened to his album this morning I thought there was something wrong with my ears! His song 'L'arc et la flèche écarlates' is a sad copy of my 'Guren no Yumiya'!_

_I'm sorry I'm venting it on you right now, but I still haven't calmed down and I'm not sure I could keep my calm if anyone else beside my band would talk to me about this right now. You can ignore me though if you don't want to bother yourself with this. I know this doesn't really concern you in any way and I really don't want to drag you into this mess._

_However, if you could tell me anything else to distract me from this I would really appreciate it._

 

Levi sighed. Oh boy. This was going to be ugly. Who would've thought the kid would rant to him about this whole ordeal?

“Great...” he muttered, leant forward, placing his elbows on his knees and folding his hands together to support his chin while he stared at the screen of his laptop.

Now how to go about this best, hopefully without upsetting the kid any more than he already was? Levi raked a hand through his raven hair, scratching at the freshly cut undercut while he thought about it. Just to come to the conclusion that in the end it wouldn't matter what he said -the brat would most likely fly off the handle either way. With another sigh he stretched his fingers and started typing.

 

 

 

 

 

Eren was just about to close his laptop and go back to practice his newest piece, when he got yet another mail to his channel. He stilled in his movement, staring at the new number of messages intently. He had left his inbox open the whole time in case this 'L. Ackermann' answered him again, but so far there hadn't been anything, so he had exited the tab and did other things instead, ignoring the now slower rising number if unread messages. Oh well, it couldn't hurt to again, right? He sighed and opened the inbox, scanning the names of the senders. None of them were recognizable and he already hovered over the x with the mouse when the site updated itself again and now showed an email from the person he had hoped would answer him. Eagerly, he clicked it open and began reading.

 

Meanwhile, the rest of the band had read over the mail Levi had sent them.

“Well-”

“Wow.”

“That certainly is something, isn't it?”

“And so fast, too. I mean, the video wasn't even up for half a day.” Jean muttered.

He really had trouble believing what he just read.

“Do you think it's true? That he didn't know, that is.” Marco wanted to know.

“I don't know. It could be.” Mikasa shrugged.

“Well, he _did_ offer to share the money. Why would he do that if he knew about the song being ours from the beginning? Wouldn't he try to keep the money to himself then?” Annie pointed out.

Armin had remained silent up until now, pondering over the possibilities. While he too couldn't say for sure what was true and where the violinist could have lied, he was still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until proven either guilty or not.

“What he wrote sounds honest enough to me. I say we wait and see where this goes. We also should forward this to Eren. He should see this, too.” he finally decided and the others nodded.

“Yeah, you're right. I'll show it to him when I get home.” Mikasa agreed, and that was the sign for all of them to dissolve their get-together and go home.

Annie left without another word, but they could tell that she was thinking about this matter more than she let on at the moment. If she had something important to say she would do so, though on her own terms and in her own time. They knew better than to rush her. Marco and Jean left together, waving goodbye to Mikasa and Armin, who stayed back for a little longer.

“Should I come with you, Mika? You know Eren wasn't exactly in the best of moods earlier.” the blond offered, but the girl shook her head.

“No, I'll be fine. I can handle Eren's temper tantrums. Besides, I think he should have blown off most of his steam by now. I wouldn't be surprised if he would be showing me a new song as soon as I'm through the front door.”

Armin sighed.

“You're right. He usually does that. But if anything happens just call me over, okay?”

“Of course, Armin. You know I will.” Mikasa smiled at her friend and they left the basement, Armin locking the door after them.

All of them had keys to the room, but it was usually Armin who was left in charge of locking up. After leaving, they walked silently for a while before Armin spoke up again.

“What do you really think about that mail, Mikasa? I mean, of course he offered us a lot of money and said he was willing to change the copyright, as well as making a public announcement about the matter, but I can't help but feel that there is a catch to the whole thing. Like he purposefully left something out.” he shrugged, helpless.

He didn't know how to describe the feeling he got while reading the mail.

“I know what you mean. I feel the same way. There is something missing, but I can't tell what it could be.” she sighed and Armin rubbed his cheeks in annoyance.

God, why them? Why did they have to deal with stuff like this? Didn't this kind of stuff usually only happen in movies or books or stuff like that?

“This is just great. I just hope Eren wont go ballistic when he sees that mail.”

“I'll make sure he won't.” Mikasa shrugged.

There was hardly anything else they could do right now, anyway. They needed Eren to see that mail before they could go and write an answer. And they probably should all discuss what they were going to say, too. Which meant that they would have to meet again tomorrow.

“Let's hope you're successful in restraining him, then.”

“I usually am, Armin. There was just that one time I didn't and that was what -seven years ago?”

“Sorry. You're right of course. I just worry too much, I guess.” Armin sighed.

Mikasa nodded.

“I know. It was a rough day for all of us. And mine is far from being over just yet...” she barely muttered the last part, but of course the blond could understand her perfectly well.

“It's good that you have your day off tomorrow, then. You can sleep in and relax.” Armin offered, hoping to console her.

Mikasa huffed and shook her head. As if that could be possible when she had to watch out that Eren wouldn't do something stupid. Armin saw it from the corner of his eyes and corrected himself.

“Well, maybe not, if Eren's around. I would come over, but I have courses all day...” he sighed again, but Mikasa waved him off.

“It's fine, Armin. I'm used to it, anyway.” she offered a small smile, halfway hidden behind the red scarf Eren had given her when she just had been adopted by his parents.

“Okay, if you say so. I'll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Sure. We'll figure out where to meet tomorrow. I'll let you know then.” Mikasa nodded and they parted ways.

They didn't live too far apart from each other -just a five minute walk, really- so they usually walked most of the way to their homes together.

 

Eren bit his lip so hard it drew blood. He didn't register the pain, though. It was the metallic taste on his tongue that made him notice. Mikasa wasn't back home yet and he had no idea what to think of anything anymore. He was shell-shocked, dumbfounded, flabbergasted. He was beyond anything and everything at the moment and couldn't even form one coherent thought, let alone words. Again and again his eyes scanned over the mail he had received earlier, still not really believing what he was reading. It started friendly enough, he supposed, but everything after the greeting seemed like one big horrible joke to him. It couldn't be true, could it? He kept nibbling on his lip (which didn't really help to stop the bleeding, but he couldn't care less) and thrummed with his fingers on the table. What to do, what to do?

 

_Message from L. Ackermann:_

_Hello E.J._

_Life sure played some shitty jokes on me today. Though I suppose it's not only me that didn't really have any luck today, but you too. And now you're in for another round through the mixer, I guess._

_First of all, I think I should tell you who I am. I know this will be hard for you to believe, but trust me, it's the truth. I am Rivaille. Yes, the Rivaille. I guess you have every right to be angry now and I can understand that, too. I would probably feel the same if I where in your place. To be honest, I never planned on telling you who I am, but when that whole deal with your song came up this morning I knew I had to tell you myself. If only to prevent you from finding out through some other source._

_Secondly, I want to apologize to you. This whole ordeal is my fault, after all and you really don't deserve this shit. No one does, really. Your music is amazing. It wasn't a lie when I said that earlier. I really think you could do great things if you set your mind to it. Once all of this shit is over and done with I would like to work with you some time. If you are willing to, that is. I won't push you. Just remember the offer stands._

_At last, I think I should tell you that I also wrote an email to your band. If you don't know already, you should go and read it. Everything regarding the song I explained in there. Well, as much as I can right now, anyway. I will update you on that matter once I found my manager and have talked to him. He seemed to have vanished from the face of earth this morning and I haven't been able to get in contact with him yet._

_Aside from that, I really am sorry that I only added to the stuff on your probably already too long list of shitty things that happened to you today and I'm willing to accept any wordvomit you want to throw at me. I honestly don't know what I could tell you to distract you, since I have a hard time on thinking of anything else, too._

_Man, this sure is fucked up... Oh, yeah. You don't have to answer me. In fact, I would totally understand it if you didn't, but I will send you another mail once I know for certain how this shit happened._

_Regards, L. Ackermann_

 

 

 

 

 

Levi finished typing the mail to the young violinist just in time for Hanji to finish making their dinner. He shut the lid of his laptop, deciding that he probably wouldn't get an answer from the younger man any time soon. If at all, really. He could understand it, though. If someone stole his music, he would be beyond pissed when he found out. Not to mention that he'd make anyone's life a living hell if he did.

“Everything okay? You look like you're ready to kill, Levi. Did you write to that boy? What did he say?” Hanji wanted to know, setting two plates down on the dining table in his living room, filled to the bring with his favourite food, pasta.

“I just finished it. I don't think he'd answer that fast. That is, if he does at all.” he sighed and sauntered over to her.

“How about the band? Did you get anything from them?”

“No, not yet. I guess they'll want to talk things through between themselves first.” Levi shrugged.

“Probably. Let me know when they answer, though.”

“Sure.”

After that they ate in silence and once they cleared the table and Levi went to clean the dishes, Hanji decided it was time for her to leave.

“If Nile doesn't show up tomorrow, we need to inform the police, you know?” she reminded him and Levi groaned.

“Ugh, that shitty guy, really...” he muttered, but he supposed Hanji was right on that.

Which is why he didn't voice any objections and just wave her goodbye from his spot at the sink.

Once alone in his apartment, Levi was drawn back to his laptop. He couldn't help but check for another mail of the violinist whose name he didn't even know. Only the initials, and those sounded like some kind of alien to him. Restless he thrummed his fingers on his thigh while he waited for his laptop to start up and load the website, just to feel disappointed when there was nothing there. Not even a zero to indicate that there had been no new messages for him. He shouldn't be surprised though. After all, that guy seemed to have been a fan of his up until now, so he should be beyond shocked to find out just who he had been talking to over the last few days. Not that Levi had minded that rant from earlier -no, he absolutely understood that one- and he wouldn't mind getting another one, as he had said. E.J. had every right to be angry at him and Levi would let him be as long as he needed to until he cooled off.

Levi sighed. He wondered who of the guys from Titans was the spirited violinist. Surely not the blond one who had done the talking -he seemed to be too calm and collected for that. Before he knew what he was doing, Levi had pulled up the video again, intently watching it. He didn't really pay attention to what was being said -he knew those words almost by heart by now- and instead observed the other three males that sat on the sofa. The girls were no option since the blond one had used the male synonyms with the violinist. The first time the video finished he was 90% sure it couldn't be the guy with the freckles, but that still left two others with a much higher possibility. He couldn't figure it out, though. Both of them -one with weird two-toned hair and a long face and a brunette with stunning green eyes- seemed to be seething throughout the whole record. That didn't make it exactly easy for him. Until he noticed that in one of the suggestions on the right side next to the video there was a song from the band listed. And the picture it showed as a preview showed three of the people of the band, the freckled one, holding a guitar of some kind, the one with the two-toned hair behind the micro and the blond girl with another guitar and a micro. That only left the brunette to be the violinist, right? Levi's eyes settled back on the video statement, watching the young man with the green eyes intently, trying to convince if he was right with his suspicion. Sadly, he found no indications to either support or destroy it, but if he remembered correctly, the brunette hadn't been in any of the other videos he and Hanji had watched earlier today, so that must mean it was him. At least he hoped it was. Why, he didn't know. Confused over his own thoughts, he grumbled to himself and closed the laptop a little too forcefully and decided he needed a distraction from all this shit.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I hope you had fun!  
> This note probably is going to be kind of on the lenghty side, since I have quite a bit to tell you, so please bear with me ^^" 
> 
> 1) I know I didn't reveal anything about Nile, but if I had, this chapter would have gotten incomparably longer, and I didn't want that (mostly because I have left you waiting for so long already). I know you are all curious about his reasons, but they will be revealed soon enough, I swear.
> 
>  
> 
> ~~2) My dear french readers (or people who speak french ^^), I have a question. I never learned the language, so I would really appreciate it if you could correct me on my translation of 'Guren no Yumiya' if I made a mistake there. I translated it as 'Rouge fléche et arc' but that just sounds totally wrong to me and I really have no clue how else to translate it.~~
> 
>  
> 
> ~~3) I'm looking for a beta for this fic. Anyone who thinks he/she is up to it, please contact me here or via my[tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/). Right now, I'm just updating this thing without even rechecking for any mistakes I might have made in the process, since I am way to lazy to do that tbh. ~~
> 
>  
> 
> 4) Okay, now for the kind-of-announcement mentioned in the beginning:  
> I am planning to write another SNK-fic and I would like to have someone to bounce my ideas back and forth with, as well as discuss the general plot and stuff. I'm not going to go into detail here, since I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but I can tell you that this is going to be either a very long oneshot (probably somewhere between 20-40k words) or another multi-chapter fic. If someone is willing to do that, it would be great if he/she would also be willing to beta that whole thing while I'm writing it, so there won't be too much to work on at once. It will be a project I will work on randomly though, so I think it will be a long while before I'll actually post it. I will keep you all updated on the status of it in these notes, though. Once I can determine a possible date I will let you know, of course. :)  
> Anyone interested please contact me through tumblr, too.  
> I also wouldn't mind if it's one person for both fics :) Just let me know and we'll talk things through, I guess :) I won't bite you, I promise!  
> \----This is no april fools joke!----
> 
>  
> 
> And at last, THANK YOU everyone who left kudos and comments for this fic, I really appreciate it and I love to read through the comments and reply to them! It makes my day every time, so please don't be shy and talk to me! Tell me what you think, what you liked or disliked, what I should do more or stop doing altogether. I really won't bite you if you do :3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (edit: got rid of a few mistakes that were bothering me, nothing really changed ^^")
> 
> Hey folks!  
> Wow, that's been the fastest update yet for this fic, I think! But I just couldn't stop writing and well... Here you go!
> 
> I'M STILL LOOKNG FOR A BETA for this fic! Anyone who thinks he/she is up to it, please contact me here or via [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/). Right now, I'm just updating this thing without even rechecking for any mistakes I might have made in the process, since I am way to lazy to do that tbh.  
> Also, I'm not making a decision on that right away, but about a week from now (the 21st). I'll let everyone who volunteered know then who I chose to be my Beta :)
> 
> Also, for the other SNK-fic I'm planning to write, I'm still looking for someone I can bounce my ideas back and forth with, as well as discuss the general plot and stuff. I'm still not going to go into detail here, since I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but I have a part of the plot already finished and I would really like to have someone to talk it over with, to see if it's actually any good at all.  
> If someone is willing to do that, it would be great if he/she would also be willing to beta that whole thing while I'm writing it (you don't have to if you don't want to!), so there won't be too much to work on at once. It will be a project I will work on randomly though, so I think it will be a long while before I'll actually post it.  
> Anyone interested please contact me through [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/), too.  
>    
>  **I also wouldn't mind if it's one person for both fics :) Just let me know and we'll talk things through, I guess :) I won't bite you, I promise!**

When Mikasa opened the door to the flat she shared with Eren she thought she would be greeted by her brother crowding her personal space and babbling about a new song he had thought of. Or that he would be bustling around in the kitchen, preparing their dinner. Or that she'd hear him play his violin. She thought she would be greeted by light in their flat and the noise oh her brother doing _something_. What she was met with, however, was nothing she had been expecting.

The hall was dark, as was the rest of the place. Not even one light was switched on, and there was non noise to be heard at all.

“Eren? Are you here?” she tried.

He _had_ said he was going home, hadn't he? She wondered and wandered further into their small home, switching on the lights as she went. He was not in the kitchen and neither in the living room. The bath was empty, too. That only left his room to check, since Eren barely ever came into her room.

“Eren?” she tried again and pushed the door to his room open.

She found him sitting on one end of his bed, blankly staring at the screen of his laptop, which lay on the other end -as far away from it as he could get.

“Eren, are you okay?” Mikasa tried to get his attention -to no avail.

He didn't show any kind of reaction and kept staring. With slow, careful movements she walked over to him, placing one hand on his shoulder, while she gently closed the laptop with the other.

“Eren, talk to me. What happened?” she urged him on and now that the laptop was closed she actually git a reaction from her stepbrother. He blinked slowly, confusion clear on his face. Obviously he needed am moment to gather his thoughts.

“Mikasa,” was all he finally said, looking at her with his uniquely green eyes.

“Eren, what's wrong? You've been completely out of it for god knows how long. You didn't even react when I called you!”

Eren still looked confused. He had been out of it? What did she mean, he hadn't reacted? And then everything came back to him and he turned his head so fast that he almost gave himself a whiplash to look at the now closed laptop. The mail, the revelation, _the offer_. Everything came crashing back and Eren held his breath while he reopened the laptop, ignoring his stepsister's pleas to _just talk to her._

“Read.” was all he said once he had opened up the email again and turned the laptop so that Mikasa could read it without any problems.

That shut her up quite nicely and Eren left her to the mail and got up from his bed. He only now noticed how hungry he actually was and went over to the kitchen. It was his turn to cook anyway. With a quick look into the fridge, however, he decided that he probably wouldn't get anything to eat for a while longer. The fridge was practically empty. Only a few softdrinks and half an apple were left in there. They had forgotten to go shopping earlier today, but that probably was understandable with what had happened today and all. Eren sighed and leant against the counter, waiting for Mikasa to finish reading that mail that had left him shell-shocked.

It didn't take long and she walked into the kitchen, a sour look on her face. She didn't say anything though and instead went for her personal stack of chocolate she kept in one of the cupboards. Eren had figured she'd need it, it was good for her nerves, after all. Only when she had devoured a few bites he dared to talk, knowing if he had done so before, she would have gone ballistic on him. And he couldn't handle his sister when she was like that.

“Well? What do you think? It's absolutely crazy, isn't it? Like the whole world was out to get us today!” he offered, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Honestly, Eren, I don't know what to think right now. You are the one that has been talking to him before, you are the one that needs to decide. Have you read the other email yet, anyway?” Mikasa shoved another piece of chocolate into her mouth before she offered Eren one, too.

He gladly took it and devoured it within a second.

“No. I was too shocked to do anything but stare at that mail. I mean -! I've been talking to Rivaille! _Rivaille_ , Mikasa! How can that even be possible?!” he gestured wildly with his hands to make his point, “I mean, how both luck and unlucky can I be at the same time?! I've practically worshipped the ground he walks on since the day I first saw that damn poster of him! And now _he_ tells me that he _likes_ my music but at the same time one of my songs shows up on _his_ album! God, Mika, this is so fucked up!”

His sister nodded, agreeing to his rant. She was happy that Eren wasn't exactly angry right now. More like he needed to vent out all of the stuff that was on his mind tight now. He needed to let out all of the pent up thoughts that he couldn't get out of his system up until now.

“It is. But you really should read the mail he sent to all of us before you make any rash decisions you might regret later. I have a feeling that there is more to all of that stuff than he let on. Something is off, and Armin agreed with me on at least that much. -By the way, should we tell him about this new mail?” she inquired of him and Eren sighed.

“I guess I should read it, shouldn't I?” he pushed himself away from the counter, pulled his phone out and handed it to her before she could say anything, “Here, order some takeout, the fridge is empty. I'll go read that mail.”

She looked a little surprised but nodded anyway.

“O..kay?” she muttered and did as she was told, while Eren went back to his room.

He had completely ignored the part about Armin, but that was mostly because he really didn't know if he should tell him. Sure, they were best friends and Armin genuinely cared for Mikasa and him, but there was no doubt in Eren's mind that his blond friend would try to talk him out of writing to the violinist. He sighed. Maybe for now it would be better to keep those mails a secret from Armin and the rest of the band. In case something happened Mikasa knew, so he should be fine for now, right?

Eren took his laptop from his bed where Mikasa had left it and placed it on his table. Quickly he opened a new tab to check on the band's email-account. Needless to say, the mail Mikasa had been talking about was easy to find and he carefully read through it. And a second time for good measure, just to make sure he had understood everything. He had just finished it as Mikasa came back, handing him his phone.

“I ordered Chinese.” she informed him, “And? What do you think? Can we trust him?”

Eren pondered for a moment.

“I'm not sure. He seems to be genuinely sorry, but I feel like there's something off.” he gestured helplessly with his hands to the mail, “Like we're missing something that should be there or he isn't telling everything he knows. I don't know.”

He shrugged, not knowing how else to describe it. Mikasa only nodded. After all, that was the exact same thing she and Armin had felt. And with Eren feeling it, too, it definitively wasn't just a fluke.

“Yeah. So, are you going to answer him?” she ultimately wanted to know.

“Honestly, I don't know.” the brunette shrugged again.

 

  

 

Levi had occupied himself with his violins, hoping that he'd somehow be able to get those damn green eyes out of his mind, but to no avail. Those eyes with their fierce look haunted him, no matter what he did. In the end he wasn't even able to go to sleep at his usual time (which was no earlier than 2am) and instead stayed up until two hours later, when he checked his emails again.

Surprise flickered in his eyes when he saw the tiny 'one' floating above the inbox-icon. Almost too hasty he clicked it open, eager to see if it was who he hoped it was that had sent him that mail. And, sure enough, it was from E.J. Levi halted for a moment. As eager as he was to read that mail -he shouldn't feel that way, should he? He shouldn't spend as much time as he had thinking about that _boy_ and his eyes, he _knew_. It didn't stop him from doing just that, though.

Somehow he had the feeling he had seen those eyes somewhere before, but he couldn't say when or where. That boy -that much he was sure of at least- he hadn't seen anywhere before. Sighing and not willing to think about this any longer, he shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind and instead focused on the mail he had received. Before he opened it he checked the time stamp. It read 03:57, and with a glance to his alarm clock Levi determined it was only five minutes after four in the morning. Not even ten minutes had gone by since that mail had been sent and if he was fast enough, he could probably type an answer before E.J. decided to shut down his computer or so he hoped.

He really wanted to talk to that guy without the hour-long relay in between each message, but he wouldn't dare to suggest something that maybe would make their communication that much easier. Come on, how creepy would that be? Not to mention that this kid looked half his age, not like the college kid he was supposed to be. With yet another sigh he finally opened the mail.

 

 

_Message from E.J._

_Wow. Just wow. You really are Rivaille, aren't you? I mean, there is no way you'd know all this shit if you weren't, so you have to be telling the truth. It just seems kind of unreal to me. I mean -how fucked up can things even get?_

_First I discover you -the one person I was looking up to for years\- stole my song, then the whole thing with the band and having to reveal who I am after I tried so long to keep it secret, only to go home and learn that the only person I felt comfortable enough with to rant about this to and I though who would understand me -aside from my sister- is the one that caused this whole mess in the first place._

_What. The. Fuck._

_I honestly don't know what to say. I must've read that mail a hundred times and more by now and I'm still not sure I believe it. It's logical enough, I get that. I just have a hard time realizing that you actually listened to my music and liked it. Even going so far as to offer me to work with you._

_Are you out of your mind, by the way? You can't be serious about that. I'm not good enough for you to even justify such idea in the first place, so I'll have to decline the offer._

_Regarding the email to the band -from what I can tell by reading it you mean to say that it wasn't you who stole the song, am I correct? I know you sometimes have other people write the stuff you play, but I thought you would at least check if those were their original works or not._

_Also, you have been listening to my songs and writing to me even before the publishing date of that album, so I can't help but wonder why in the seven names of hell you haven't noticed before and stopped the publishing? It couldn't have been so hard to do so! You didn't even need to know about the band at all. That song was out there all along for the whole world to see! I really can't understand this, and I would love to hear your explanation to that, really._

_E.J._

 

 

That was it. That was all Levi had for now and to his surprise, the general tone of the mail didn't even feel half as hostile as he thought it would have. He could swear there was an underlying tone of accusation and defeat swinging along with it, but he could act as if he didn't notice them, if he wished to. Levi pondered for a moment, glancing at the time again. Then he went to type his answer. It would probably be full of mistakes and things he would regret saying tomorrow, but at the moment he couldn't care less about it. He didn't even reread it when he was finished and instead just hit the 'send'-button before he finally went to bed again. Sleep took him away not a minute later, and he dreamt of green eyes and a lost child, but when he woke to the blaring of his alarm the next morning he couldn't make any sense of it and quickly forgot about the dream completely.

 

“We still don't know where Nile is. Not even Mary seems to be able to get in touch with him.” Hanji informed him as soon as he set foot into her shop.

Levi put his coat on the coat rack and flipped the shop's sign from 'open' to 'closed' before he walked over to her, a frown apparent on his usually stoic face. If even Nile's wife didn't know where to find him, things sure weren't okay.

“I know. You said as much when you called me earlier, remember? What did he police say?” he inquired and Hanji out down the instrument she was currently working on.

“Apparently they can't do anything right now. Nile is an adult and can take care of himself, they said. They can't do anything unless no one has heard from him for three days straight, since there are no existing threats to his person that we or Mary know of. Until that isn't the case, they simply can't do anything but wait. It's the law.” she sighed.

“That shitty bastards.” Levi grumbled, but nodded nonetheless.

Of course he wanted to find Nile and eventually even skin him alive if it turned out that he was the one responsible for the thievery, but he understood the reasons why they couldn't do anything right now. At least they only needed to wait another day. Not even 24 hours, to be exact. They had noticed Nile's absence around noon yesterday, but he must've been gone before that, and now it was already evening on the second day.

“I know we can't do anything right now. I wouldn't know where to look for him anymore, anyway. All the places we know of we tried at least thrice.”

Levi shrugged to her words. He too couldn't think of any other places where Nile could be. And if even Mary couldn't help, there was no way of finding the man any time soon without the help of the police.

“Oh! I have a new violin for you! I just finished it earlier today! Please try it!” Hanji effortlessly switched the topic and bounded off to the back of the shop were she kept her experimental works.

Works that didn't follow the strict rules of violin-making. And Levi was her lab-rat to test them. She wanted to improve god-knows-what and so far he had played way more of her experiments than he could care to count. It were just that many.

“Now? Do I have to?” he groaned, though ultimately he would do it, if only to stop her nagging.

And he had to say that recently she had become better at making these custom violins.

“Of course! Now come on, grumpy!” she didn't give him any more time for an answer and instead came running back to him, holding a pretty much normal looking violin and a bow in her hands.

Levi took both from her without another word and examined the instrument. His first impression hadn't been too wrong, it really looked normal enough.

“It's lighter than usual.” he noticed.

“Yes. Play it.” she urged him on and he hoisted the instrument to his shoulder, placing the bow on the strings.

He wouldn't need to bother with tuning it first. Knowing Hanji, it should be tuned perfectly. He took a breath and another hesitating look at Hanji and then drew the bow.

 

  

 

Eren had stayed up all night, thinking about the situation he was in and what he could possibly do about it. In the end, he was as clueless as he had been before, but what could he do? Of course he was angry at his idol, at the whole situation, really, but the more he thought about it and read through both mails again and again, the more he understood that it wouldn't do him any good to project his anger on the older violinist. The longer he thought about it, the more he felt like there was something off about the whole ordeal. Not that he could say _what_ it was exactly that felt off to him. When he felt that he was calm enough to actually write a mail without making it sound like he was ready to throw some punches at Rivaille, it was already after 3am.

The brunette frowned. He had decided he would write an answer to the violinist, but he had no idea how to go about it. In the end, it sounded somewhat stiff and overly polite, but he was too tired and sleep deprived to actually care. At least he made sure his spelling and grammar were acceptable. He didn't want to seem like a total brat to his idol, after all. Almost half an hour later he had finished the mail and went straight to bed, not really thinking he would get another answer from Rivaille right now anyway. It was in the middle of the night, for heaven's sake! Who in their right mind -excluding Eren- was up and awake at this ungodly hour? With that thought in mind, Eren crawled into his bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

 

The next day went by mostly uneventful. Eren and Mikasa used their free day to catch up on their coursework and work on some of the assignments and essays they had to write for their respective classes while they waited for their friends to finish their own courses. Not all of them had a free day today, after all.

The first ones to drop by were Marco and Annie, and the four of them headed to their basement together. They could have met up there, but it didn't occur to either of them. And besides, the siblings probably would have forgotten entirely, were it not for the other two to drop by.

“So, has Mikasa shown you the email we got from Rivaille yesterday?” Marco wanted to know, just as Mikasa unlocked the door to the room.

“Yep.” Eren popped the 'p' and shrugged simultaneously.

Now that he'd had time to think things through and after that other mail that he got from the violinist he was sure a lot calmer than the day before. He could actually think clearly and make rational decisions.

“And? What do you think? Should we accept his apology and just take the money?”

Eren sighed.

“I don't know. Mikasa and I talked about it and we came to the conclusion that there is something off about this whole ordeal.”

Marco raised one of his eyebrows in question.

“How so?” he wanted to know and even Annie looked mildly interested for once.

“We don't know. It's just a feeling we have.” Mikasa joined their conversation and made herself comfortable on their couch.

Eren nodded to support her words and plopped down beside her. Marco and Annie just nodded and unpacked their guitars from their cases. They could practice a little while they waited for the others to arrive, after all.

Once they were occupied, Mikasa leant over to Eren, whispering in his ear.

“You're not going to tell them about the other mail, are you?”

The brunette shook his head, not needing to voice his answer.

Telling them wouldn't exactly raise questions, but he knew they'd be curious and he just didn't want to deal with that right now, on top of everything else he had to worry about.

“Did you answer him, though? You've still been up when I went to bed at 2am.” she pressed on quietly and Eren shrugged.

“Not yet. I don't know what I'd say, anyway.” he whispered back just as quietly, hoping neither Marco nor Annie would hear him.

Mikasa nodded, not suspecting that she'd just been lied to by her stepbrother. Eren wasn't a great liar most of the time and usually stuck to the truth, but he had somehow managed to seem casual enough just now to not raise any suspicions from her. He should be safe, for now.

The rest of the band arrived one by one and at around 5pm everyone was gathered on the underground room. They were lounging on the couch, the floor, or just standing around, catching up over their day, before Armin spoke up and changed the topic of their conversations the the email they had received the prior evening.

“So now that Eren has read it, too, what are we going to do about it?” he wanted to know.

Jean and Marco looked lost, they clearly didn't want to be the first ones to make a suggestion. Annie just looked as expressionless as usual, though she seemed to have something on her mind. Eren was quiet, too, waiting for Armin or Mikasa to say what they came up with. Armin sighed, noticing that none of his friends wanted to go first.

“Fine. I'll start, then. I'm not sure you how you feel about it, but Mikasa and I feel like there's something off about that mail.”

To their surprise, Annie nodded, as did Marco. Jean looked surprised, but that should have been expected from the dumb horse-face, Eren thought.

“How come?” Annie eventually wanted to know.

“I'm not sure. It feels like there is something missing. Like he purposefully left something out.” Mikasa tried to explain, “We have no idea what it could be, though.”

Armin nodded and Eren quietly agreed with them.

“Maybe if we go through it together we could figure it out?” Marco suggested, but he wasn't sure that this would bring them any new informations they could use to base their decision of whether or not to take Rivaille's offer on.

 

  

 

That evening Levi went home with a new Instrument in his possession. The experimental violin Hanji had manufactured had him wrapped around its finger -metaphorically speaking. He was hooked on the sound. It didn't quite sound like a violin -he guessed it was because of the lighter wood and slightly larger f-holes- and he liked it. It was different, a one-of-a-kind instrument that no one else had or could ever have.

He was still reminiscing about that fact when his phone began ringing with an annoying tone that informed that it was an unknown number calling him. For a moment he simply stared at the screen before he put the device down. If it were a number he knew or a call he'd been expecting he'd had at least contemplated answering it, but not with an unknown number. He let it ring and it would have gone straight to his mailbox, but whoever was calling cancelled the call before it could. That spared Levi the task of having to delete it later. He thought that with that, the thing was over, but not five minutes later the phone rang again, and from what he could tell, it was the same person as before, seeing as it was the same unknown number flashing on his screen.

“I'm not answering you!” he muttered to the device and decided to put it somewhere where he wouldn't be too annoyed if it rang again.

In fact, he forgot about his phone until late into the night and when he checked it, he had 86 missed calls and even more unread messages, all stating the same thing: 'Pick up your damn phone.' There was no signature, no name or anything else that indicated who it might be that was pestering him and Levi frowned in annoyance. Just when he wanted to put it back down again, the thing began its spiel again and Levi, being startled, this time actually accepted the call. For a moment, he just stared blankly at the device before he raised to his ear, muttering a careful greeting.

“Hello?”

“Thank god, Rivaille! Fuckin' finally!”

Levi's eyes widened. He knew that voice.

“Nile.” he stated, banning every hint of wonder and shock from his voice.

“Listen, I don't have much time, I'm in trouble and I need you to go to my flat -not the house! The spare key is hidden behind the bell, you can easily pull it off and put it back on again.”

“Wha-” Levi tried to get a word in, but his manager ignored him completely, continuing to hastily rattle a few more instructions to the violinist.

“Nile, where the fuck are you?! We've been looking for you for-” Levi tried again, but his tirade was cut short by the long dial tone that came to his ear, indicating that Nile had hung up on him.

The raven's frown deepened.

“What the fuck was that about?” he wondered, glaring at his phone.

He didn't spend any more thoughts about it for now, though. Instead he almost automatically started calling the one person that he always called in situations like this. Probably because Hanji was just as crazy as the things he could find himself in and wasn't fazed by it in the least.

“Hanji, we have a problem.” he informed her as soon as her sleepy voice came from the other end of the line.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed it!
> 
> Now we're starting to find out what the deal with Nile is and what is going on. There will be more revealings in the next chapter and maybe even some Levi/Eren interaction, though I might put it in the chapter after the next one, depending on the flow of things ^^"
> 
> Also, THANK YOU everyone who left kudos and comments for this fic, I really appreciate it and I love to read through the comments and reply to them! It makes my day every time, so please don't be shy and talk to me! I really won't bite you if you do :3


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _OH MY GOSH I AM SO SORRY EVERYONE!_  
>  I'm so sorry it took me practically forever to update this!  
> I went on a vacation shortly after the last update and after that I lost touch with this story and turned to other things instead êe  
> And before I knew it, it was already June and Ereri-week started. And I _really_ wanted to participate to get back into things! You can read the stuff I wrote [here](http://archiveofourown.org/series/266425), if you haven't already! :3  
>  Now, I guess that's enough rambling from my side, so have fun reading, as always!

The band spent the greater part of the evening reading through Rivaille's email again and again, trying to figure out just what it was that felt so off about it. It could have been anything though, and by the end of their get-together they were as clueless as before. It irked them all to some degree, but there was nothing they could do about it. For now, at least. That night, they left their basement with mixed feelings, all of them unusually quiet.

Mikasa, Armin and Eren walked together in silence, each for them lost in their own thoughts. At the crossroad they had to part, the siblings waved goodbye to Armin.

“We'll see you the day after tomorrow, Armin!” Mikasa smiled and the blond nodded at them.

“Sure. I'll try to figure out what we're missing. Also, if there's another mail from him, please call me!” he urged the both of them.

“Of course.” Eren assured him and then they were off.

 

“Are you okay, Eren?” Mikasa wanted to know, once they were out of earshot from Armin, “You've been quieter than usual today.”

Eren sighed. Of course he was. He just had a lot on his mind that needed to be figured out.

“Yeah...” he shrugged, knowing his sister wouldn't like it if he kept quiet.

She still looked miffed, though. As if she wasn't sure he was telling the truth.

“Mikasa. I am fine, really. Just tired. It has been a long day.” he tried to reassure her.

That seemed to get her off of his case and allowed him to return to his thoughts. He wondered if he had received an email from Rivaille when he checked later. He sure hoped so. Maybe that would give him a little more details as to why all of this happened in the first place. So when they arrived at their flat, he went straight to his room, nodding courtly to his sister's words that dinner would be ready within the hour. He didn't care. Not when he hoped he'd get to read an answer from Rivaille that hopefully would answer some of his questions.

His laptop came to life and he quickly logged into his account to check, only to give an exasperated sigh. The amount of emails he had received was sheer unbelievable. There was no way he'd read through all of them on his own. He probably should ask Armin and Mikasa to help him deal with those. For now, however, he ignored them in favour of searching for that by now familiar name and address. He scrolled slowly through the overwhelming amount of emails, trying not to let any of the more offending topics get to him. It wasn't easy, and when he neared the end of the list he thought that maybe Rivaille hadn't answered him yet after all. But there it was -the last one on the list! He checked the time stamp on it, only to be surprised. It read 4:22am. Not even half an hour after he'd sent his email last night! Eren wondered for a moment, only to decide that it likely was a coincidence and nothing more and then opened the mail.

 

_Message from L. Ackermann_

_Hello E.J._

_You're right. This is fucked up. I can't quite believe it myself, to be honest. It's too much of a coincidence and I don't like it one bit. However, that doesn't change the fact that it happened and we need to find a way to figure things out now. 'What the fuck' doesn't even come close to it, though it does describe this whole situation well enough, I suppose._

_I am not out of my mind, brat. I meant it. Still do, actually. Your music is exceptionally good and I would love to work with you some time. Yet, I can understand your hesitation. I'm sure I'd react the same way if I were in your place. Please think about it some more, though. It doesn't have to be anytime soon and we don't even need to record anything if you don‘t want to. I just want to play with you. God, that sounds so wrong, now that I think about it. Ignore that! I am dead serious about this, so please give it a little more thought before you decline._

_And no, that wasn't me. As a fellow musician you should know that his kind of thing is unacceptable, especially for someone in my position. By now I have a vague idea about what is going on here and how this shit happened, but I'll need a few more days to confirm my suspicions. I'll let you know once I have any results. And of course we check for copyrights, or well, until now, my manager did that. No doubt he did a shitty job of it though._

_I haven't been listening to all of your songs so far. Sure, we've been talking for a while now and I have made comments on several of your videos, but I haven't had the time to go through them all yet. I started with the newest ones and I have to admit I may have spent a little more time on some of them than what would be called healthy, probably. Your playing really is good, so don't put yourself down about it. Just because I am -more or less- famous doesn't mean I don't make mistakes. I'm far from perfect, believe me. We're all only human, after all._

_If I had known beforehand that I somehow got a stolen song on my album I would have stopped production immediately; hat much you can be sure of. This is negative publicity for me and while I hope we can come to an agreement without involving more parties than necessary, I can understand that you might want to involve the law anyway. I won't oppose to that, should you and your band decide you want it. All I can do now is damage control and hope for the best. That and that you and your band are a bunch of decent young people. But somehow I don't doubt that, if your video addressing the theft is anything to go by._

_Also, might I ask for your name? I can't keep calling you E.J or brat, can I? That sounds like I'm addressing a fuckin' alien or some shit._

_Regards, L. Ackermann_

 

Eren took a deep breath once he finished. This was the longest mail yet he had received from the violinist and he knew he learned quite a few things about him in the process. For one, his idol had written this mail without caring for any mistakes he made -the text was full of misspellings- and two, it looked like he'd just written whatever came to mind than actually think about what he was going to say and how he said it. Eren also learned that Mr. Ackermann seemed to be more outgoing with his feelings and thoughts than he initially thought (based on his encounter with the man when he'd been a child). The brunette couldn't help but think that the man was also pretty chilled about his rant. He was about to reread the mail, when Mikasa called him.

“Eren! Come and help set the table! Dinner is almost ready!”

 

 

 

Once he had informed Hanji about the call he had received from Nile, Levi decided he might as well go to that place now. He had no intentions of going there alone, though.

“So? Are we going now or in the morning?” Hanji asked, though she should know the answer to that already.

“Now.”

“Thought so. But Levi, shouldn't we inform the police, too? And Mary? What you told me sounds more than just a little fishy, Levi.”

“I know. I haven't thought about it yet, to be honest. Maybe we should, though.” he pondered.

“Hm. He didn't say you couldn't, right?”

Levi nodded, though Hanji couldn't see him. It probably was for the best too inform the police.

“Okay. See you there, then? Unless the police tells us not to come, that is.”

“Oh you know we'll both go anyway. We've never been good with obeying orders.” Hanji cackled.

He huffed. Of course she was right.

“Alright. I'll call them and then get going.” he affirmed and hung up.

Good thing he hadn't changed out of his clothes yet.

 

The call to the police was quickly made and although the woman answering the line said he was overreacting, she promised to send a patrol over there. Just to be safe. After that, Levi was on his way, and when he arrived at the building, Hanji and the police were already there and talking.

“Oh, Levi! Finally!” Hanji greeted him, for once foregoing her usual tackle-hug and Levi was grateful for that.

The two officers eyed him with a skeptical look, but loosened up a little when he nodded at them in greeting.

“So, you have been the one calling us out here? Can you please explain the situation?” one of them prompted Levi to retell the happenings of the last few days and the rather unusual call he had received earlier that night.

“I see. I'd say your worry is justified. Also, since Mr. Dawk hasn't been around over the last few days and it doesn't seem likely that he will for infinitely longer, it might be a good idea if we could put a call-tracer to your phone. That way, when he calls again, we can locate his whereabouts.” the taller of the two officers said, once Levi finished his explanation.

The violinist frowned and thought about it.

“It'll only activate if Mr. Dawk calls, of course. Also, you'd need to hold the conversation for at least 30 seconds.” the one who first spoke seemed to notice Levi's worry.

“I'll think about it.” Levi decided and turned to look at the house.

He wanted to just get in there and see what it was that Nile wanted him to retrieve and send it to him. The officers and Hanji were just a step behind him while they watched him pull off the bell and recover the key. After that, everything went smoothly. They found what they had been looking for easily, and Levi, despite feeling a little uncomfortable about it, allowed the policemen to take the things back to the station to pack it up and send it to Nile. They wanted to put in a tracker, since they suspected the address Nile had given him to be only a PO Box. All in all, they didn't spend more than 15 minutes in the flat and then Hanji and Levi could go home again. Levi had decided against letting his phone being bugged. He did, however, give the officers the number Nile had called him under. That way they could do some research on their own, and Levi promised to call them if Nile would contact him again.

Back at home, Levi felt dead tired, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. He figured he might as well check his emails to see if the band or the young violinist had answered him yet. Only then did he actually remember the mail he had written late last night and scolded himself for it. Five minutes later his email program was open and he scanned over the email he had send. An unhappy groan left his throat and he cringed. He had probably made a total ass out of himself with that mail. Resigning, he shook his head to get rid of those thoughts and instead concentrated on filtering through the list until he found what he was looking for. He didn't have to look for long, thankfully.

 

_Message from E.J._

_Hey!_

_Yeah, we do. And the sooner the better. I can't help but feel like you're keeping something from us, though. At least, the email you sent to the band kind of left that impression with me and some of the others. We could be completely wrong, though!_

_Yes,_ you are _out of your damn mind! I'm a nobody. Why would you want to waste your time on me? I'm not even anywhere near your level of skill! This is ridiculous! I could never accept that offer! Do you even realize just how many more people are out there and are way more fitting to work with you than I'll ever be? Don't get me wrong, I_ am _flattered that you want to work with me, I just really don't think it would be a good idea. So please, stop asking that of me. It's not going to happen._

_What suspicions are you talking about, though? What is going on? Why can't you tell me now? There's nothing I could do about it anyway, so please tell me! This has something to do with the theft, doesn't it?_

_Well, at least your questionable obsession explains why you didn't stop the publication when you still would've had the chance. I guess I can accept that. Though I can't understand how you could spend that much time on some of the songs. They really aren't anything special. And don't say I'm wrong, because I am not. I see things realistically and I know I am right._

_On that note, I, for one, don't want to involve the law in this if we can come to an agreement on our own. The offer you made to the band is more than generous, after all. You seem to be a nice person, even if you don't usually let it show to people. (And I should know it, too, since we've met before. You probably won't remember it, though. But that doesn't matter because I still do.) Oh, I guess we all are 'decent young people', as you put it. If we can sort things out without making a fuss in the process, we will be glad to, so don't worry about getting a letter summoning you to a court meeting or something like that._

_My name? Well, I guess it's okay to tell you, you'd learn it sooner or later anyway. Name's Eren. Eren Yaeger. I don't need to ask yours, in case you might wonder. I already know it. I've known it for a long time, actually. I just didn't want to use it before, because that would have been weird, right?_

_Well, I guess that's all for now. I'm looking forward hearing from you, Levi._

_Eren_

 

Levi squinted at the mail. He'd read it thrice and still didn't know what that brat was talking about. They had met before? When? Where? And how the hell did the kid know his name? He'd always kept it a secret to the public and he was sure it never leaked through. Even obnoxious Hanji with her exuberant ways always called him by his chosen pseudonym when they were in public. How could Eren know his name, then? Levi couldn't understand, couldn't figure it out. Groaning with frustration, he scanned the text yet again. _'You probably won't remember it, though.'_ -that implied that it happened a while ago, and _'I've known it for a long time, actually.'_ confirmed that suspicion.

However, he didn't know _how_ long ago exactly this encounter happened, or where. And he found he wanted to know when and where he had met this kid before, wanted to remember. Even the name didn't ring a bell to him. But that probably was because he had met too many people to count since the start of his career. Maybe he could ask Hanji if she remembered him meeting someone by that name. Knowing her and her enormous memory she most likely would, too. Levi sighed, having made his decision. He would ask her tomorrow. After he'd answered that mail. He wouldn't do that now. One unchecked mail sent to the young musician was more than enough, he decided.

 

 

 

The next day went by pretty uneventful for Eren and his sister. They both had courses to attend to and were out of the house for most of the day. Eren was happy that the news of the theft hadn't made it into the news yet, apparently. He was sure otherwise he'd be harassed by his fellow students and reporters alike. Though he had seen the interview in which Rivaille was notified of the theft. The man hadn't shown much of a reaction, but Eren was sure that he had been genuinely surprised and shocked by the news, just like he'd told him in his mails. What Eren didn't understand was why there wasn't more of an uproar about the whole ordeal. Sure, the classical branch of the music industry was all over the supposed theft, but they still seemed to try and keep it on the down low. He wondered why. Rivaille never said to lay off of him and the band, right? Eren furrowed his brows in thought. He was thinking about it, only to come to the conclusion that no, Levi hadn't said a thing at all. Only that he would look into the matter and nothing more.

“Eren, quit spacing out!” Mikasa's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” Eren blinked.

“I said we should stop by the store before we head home after classes. The groceries are almost out again and I need more chocolate.” she explained and Eren nodded.

It was fine with him either way.

“Sure.” he let her know.

“Great. I'll meet you at the gate after class, then.”

“Yeah. See you then.”

With that, the two of them parted ways to head to their last lectures for the day.

 

Time went by fast enough after that and before Eren knew it, they were on their way home and he carried two bags of groceries in addition to his already heavy book bag, Mikasa walking by his side. They were discussing what they were having for dinner later, when Mikasa suddenly stopped walking.

“Eren!”

“Hm?” he looked at her, confused and not understanding why she ceased walking.

“Eren, look.” she pointed down the road, to the entrance of the three story building they lived in.

Eren's eyes went wide. The place was practically swarming with reporters! People with cameras and note pads where everywhere.

“What the fuck?!” Eren gaped.

Mikasa nodded.

“Seems like they finally figured out where we live.” she frowned and Eren agreed.

“Let's call Armin and see if he's in similar trouble.” Eren suggested.

“Sure. We shouldn't stay here though. They might see us.”

“Right. To the crossroad, then?”

Mikasa nodded and they turned on their heels. Since Eren's hands were occupied, Mikasa was the one to call their blond friend. Eren gestured for her to put on the speaker so they could both talk to him.

 _“Mikasa! What is it?”_ the blond picked up after the third ring.

“Armin! There's a ton of reporters at our place! Can we come over and crash at yours?”

_“What?! Sure you can! I don't think any of them are here. Have you told the others?”_

“No, not yet. We just came back from shopping and saw them clogging the entrance. We didn't even go near them.” Eren informed him.

Armin hummed and they could hear him move around.

_„Okay, they didn't notice you, right?”_

“I don't think so. Else they'd be on our heels already, I suppose.”

Just when Mikasa finished that sentence, they could hear the sound of Armin's bell over the phone.

 _“Okay guys, that's my cue. I'll see you in a bit!”_ and with that, the blond hung up on them before they could even get a word in edgewise.

The siblings frowned at each other but set out to their friend's place either way. Not a minute later, however, Mikasa's phone rang.

“It's Armin!” she informed her brother and answered the call, “Armin? What is it?”

At his next words her face darkened considerably and Eren looked at her in question. She hadn't had time to put the speaker on.

“Okay. Yeah. You just stay put and don't go out unless you absolutely have to. Wait until they're gone. ...Yeah. Yeah, call the others and send them there, too. Yes, Eren and I will head there now. Bye.”

While she had been talking to Armin, Mikasa had stopped walking again and started glaring down the road ahead of them.

“What happened?” Eren tentatively asked her to get some more details out of her.

“They're at his place, too. He didn't open the door but he saw a guy with a camera bag through the spyhole. He suggested we should go to the basement instead. He'll send the others over, too.”

Eren nodded.

“The basement it is, then. Let's go.”

 

They were the first to arrive of course, and went straight to pack their groceries into the small fridge, happy they had it. Not too soon after, Jean and Marco came in and Annie joined them twenty minutes later. Now only Armin was missing but they figured he'd probably take a while before being able to join them.

“So they showed up at your places, too?” Eren questioned them once they all were comfortable on the couch or the ground.

Annie shrugged, but Jean and Marco nodded. Mikasa looked pointedly at the blond girl, wanting to know the reason for her shrug.

“I didn't even go home after Armin called me. Figured I'd come here immediately. No need to do a detour if it's avoidable.”

That was plausible, and the other four accepted her explanation.

“Right...” Eren sighed and slumped back against the couch.

He had no clue how long they'd have to stake out down here in the basement. And he didn't even have his violin with him! Great! He pulled a face. At least he had his laptop with him because he had needed it for his courses earlier today. That way he could work on his assignments, if nothing else.

“Now, what do we do? Sit around and twiddle thumbs until Armin shows up?” Jean wanted to know.

“There's little else to do. We don't even have our instruments here.”

“I guess we could still try to come up with some lyrics for that new song we've been planning, but without a guitar to accompany it it's going to be hard.”

“We could try thinking about Rivaille's email again.”

They all came up with different ideas, each of them receiving sounds of distress and unwillingness from the others.

“To each their own?” Eren tried then, and thankfully that seemed to please everyone.

Jean and Marco quietly started talking, Annie pulled out her phone to text someone and Mikasa just leant back on the sofa, closing her eyes. That was fine with Eren, as he pulled his laptop out of his bag and started it up. The thought that he could check for a new mail from Levi crossed his mind, but then he remembered that the man probably hadn't answered yet, seeing as he usually seemed to send his mails in the middle of the night. He sighed. Assignment it was, then.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I hope you had fun reading and that a few things got a little clearer than they were before.  
> I'm not too sure about the next update, but I think I can promise that it won't take as long as this one did.  
> Also, thanks again to everyone who left kudos and comments since the last update, you guys are amazing! :3
> 
> As always, please feel free to leave comments or critiques! I would love to hear your opinions! -they kick my butt into writing gear and keep me motivated, after all! :D I'm always up for a chat with you guys, be it here in the comment section or via ask on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/), either is fine with me, so don't be afraid to drop by sometime! :3 I won't bite you, promise! :D  
> Oh and thanks again [MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) for being such a wonderful beta! ^0^


	7. Chapter 7

 

Armin didn't come until late that night, carrying two bags full of blankets and pillows with him. He had figured they were probably all staying over at the basement that night.

“Armin, you're a godsend!” Marco smiled and thanked him for the blanket the blond had handed him.

“Sure, Marco. So, what did I miss? Anything new?”

They collectively shook their heads.

“Nah. Nothing you don't already know.”

Armin nodded, “Okay then. I've thought about it and I think we should probably all try to get home early tomorrow and hope we won't run into any more reporters. And then we meet up at Eren's and Mikasa's to deal with the reporters there, if they show up again. Seems like they were the main target earlier.”

The group agreed, mumbling and grumbling.

“It's a shame we have to get up early. It's a Saturday, for god's sake!” Jean pulled a face and was punched lightly by Marco for that.

“Shut up. It can't be helped. Besides, it is nice to be here with everyone like this, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you're right...”

“Is that okay with you, Eren, Mikasa?” Armin addressed the siblings, who nodded in unison.

“Sure.”

“I still wonder how they found out where we lived, though.” Annie spoke up and all eyes were on her immediately.

“What? Don't tell me you haven't thought about that before?” Armin frowned.

 _He_ had thought about it. However, he knew for a fact that the others most likely hadn't.

“Not really, no.” they muttered and thus confirmed Armin's suspicions.

“Well, I did. The only way I can explain it is by simple name search. We don't hide our first names and Eren's and Mikasa's are unusual enough as it is. They only needed to cross check with social media, find our profiles and go from there. They probably called the college to ask for our addresses by giving false information.” the blond explained, watching the other's faces turn dark.

“That's illegal though, isn't it?” Mikasa frowned.

“Yup.” Annie nodded.

“Great!” Eren grumbled and leaned back on the couch, carding a hand through his already messy hair, “That means we'll have to sort things out with the administration, too.”

The group made faces at that prospect, not really happy about it.

“Yeah...”

From there, they went to discuss over what they'd talk about with the reporters, if they dared to show up again tomorrow or whether they should say anything at all. In the end, they settled on only telling one thing: They were in contact with Rivaille about the matter and already tried to find a solution that all parties involved will agree with. Nothing else would be said. Once they decided on that, they were all dead tired and yawning by the minute.

“We should probably try and go to sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow.” Armin suggested and pulled his blanket tighter around himself.

Jean and Marco were sharing one and leant their backs to the couch, sitting in front of it with outstretched legs. Mikasa had stretched out on the couch, her feet dangling over one of the armrests and her head in Armin's lap. Eren threw a blanket over her and then laid down on the floor, hoarding the pillows around him to be more comfortable. Annie followed him, laying down on the floor, and sharing a pillow with him, though she laid upside down from Eren. They left the light on, none of them willing to get up and switch it off. Sure, it would spike their electricity bill, but no one cared about that at the moment. It didn't take long for them to drift off to sleep, them being all exhausted because of the issue with the reporters and staying up so late.

 

  

 

Levi was awoke way too early for his liking. He had stayed up well until the early hours of the morning, searching his brain for any hints about when and where he could have met the young violinist before. So it was no surprise that he chose to ignore the ringing of his phone in favour of at least another hour or two of more sleep. It was Friday. And Fridays were the days he either worked at his home studio to record new songs or just practiced the songs he already knew. He never had any meetings scheduled on this day, so he could theoretically sleep for as long as he wanted to. However, the ringing became more and more incessant and after ten minutes of trying to ignore it, he gave up.

“You couldn't have waited another hour until you had to wake me, Hanji?” he growled into the phone.

To Hanji's credit, she didn't even seem fazed by his tone of voice.

“No. Go get the paper, grumpy butt. It's on the front page.” was all she said and Levi frowned.

Of course, it had been just a matter of time until this happened, but he had hoped he'd have until at least Monday. But no, those vultures _had_ to start this shit on the last day of the working week. He grunted in acknowledgement to Hanji's order, that way letting her know that _yes_ , he was getting up and doing what she had ordered him to.

On bare feet he padded over to his front door and picked up the paper, his phone edged between his ear and shoulder. He knew better than to hang up on Hanji. When she said something like that _this_ early in the morning they both knew he'd be calling her back in a few minutes anyway. He also knew better than to even look at the front page before he had made himself comfortable on his couch, the phone switched to speaker so he'd have both hands free to handle the paper.

Hanji was quiet while Levi went through this routine, patiently waiting until he saw what she had called him for. It didn't take long. Levi hissed, crumbling the edges of the paper where he held it.

“What the ever loving fuck? Hanji, what the hell? What _is_ this shit?!” Levi glared at the paper.

Hanji took a deep breath on the other end of the line, attempting to say something, but the raven head wasn't done yet.

“Where did they even get that from? Shit, this is bad.” he cussed.

“I have no idea.” Hanji huffed and he could hear her shuffling around in her own flat, probably dressing or something like that.

“What do we do now? You have no way of contacting the band other than through email, and even then there's no guarantee that they'll see it in time.”

Levi grumbled something unintelligible to that, agreeing with her. He was still staring at the paper.

 _ **Teenage band accusing world renowned violinist of music theft**_ read the headline, and under that was a collage of a photograph of him and a screencap from the video the band had submitted on their Youtube Channel. He scanned the article, but it was clear that whoever had written it was misrepresenting the facts and left some things out entirely in order to let the band look like the one at fault.

“I’'ll send them a warning either way. Those reporters are bound to show up on their doorstep some time today or tomorrow. I just hope they'll see it in time.” Levi sighed.

“Do you see who wrote the article? I can't find a name anywhere.”

“No. I've looked into it, too. I can give the desk of the paper a call if you want me to, though. Then you can concentrate on writing that email.” Hanji offered.

“Thank you Hanji that would be great. Let me know what they said?”

“Sure thing. I'll come by after.”

“Mhm.” Levi hummed his agreement and hung up.

Hanji would make short work of that call, he knew, so he'd better get that email written and get ready.

 

Not even half an hour later Hanji let herself into his house, bustling through the hall like a hurricane and calling out to Levi. She had new information she needed to share with him.

“Levi? You done primping yet?”

“The kitchen!” the raven haired let her know, taking a sip of his freshly brewed coffee.

He usually preferred tea, but she had woken him at a really ungodly hour, so he needed the caffeine to get started on the day. Not a second later, Hanji came into the kitchen.

“I’ve got good news and I've got bad news. Which do you want first?”

“The bad ones, obviously. That way it can only get better.” he huffed.

“Okay, good.” she sat down at the table, “Well, they said the story was anonymously submitted by a freelance reporter. They don't have anything on him. The email he sent the article from apparently was one of those temporary ones that expire after a certain amount of time.”

Levi glared and decided to take a sip of his coffee in order not to start cussing again.

“The good news, however, is, they want to print an apology letter in the evening paper, apologizing to you and the band both.”

“That's hardly good news, Hanji. The damage is done already. These kids will have to deal with a hoard of bloodthirsty reporters without having a clue on how to get rid of them.”

“That's true.” Hanji' face fell.

“There's not really anything we can do, though. If they dare to show up here I'm not going to say anything to them at all.” Levi frowned.

“Oh. Maybe you should at least tell them that you're already in contact with them and you're trying to find a solution together?”

“Maybe. We'll see about that.” he shrugged.

 

  

 

“Get up! We have to get going!” Armin woke them rather cheerily.

“What the fuck, Armin? What time is it?” Jean grumbled and buried his face in Marco's hair, trying to block out the blond.

“It's four thirty! Now get up, you lazy bums! We need to get going if we want to be at Eren's before the reporters show up again.”

They murmured, groggy and still tired from only three hours of sleep.

“Okay, okay.” they eventually huffed and got up, packing the blankets and pillows back into the bags Armin had brought.

They parted ways with the promise to bring food for breakfast when they met up at Eren's and Mikasa's and the siblings were happy they didn't have to provide food for all of them.

 

Eren and Mikasa arrived at their place a little before five in the morning and with not a single reporter in sight in front of their apartment complex. Glad that they had at least a little time to themselves before they'd be busy again, they took their time showering and getting ready for the day.

Eren went in first and after he was done he went to check his emails and calls. He hadn't checked his phone since yesterday morning, and he found several missed calls from his mother. Eren sighed. Calling her now would be futile, she would be still asleep at this time of the day. But he did send her a quick text, saying he would call her later in the day and that he shouldn't talk to any reporters that might dare show at her place. They couldn't be too sure about what those guys all knew about them by now. Then he went over his emails. The number of them seemed to have exploded over night and he had a hard time finding what he was looking for -a new email from his idol.

There didn't seem to be one, though. Eren frowned. Levi hadn't taken this long to answer before, right? He wondered what it was that kept the man from answering him. Was it something he said, maybe? Shouldn't he have said he knew his name? Should he have agreed to work with him, even if he felt like he'd be using the man's popularity to boost his own? No. that couldn't be it, could it? The violinist wasn't someone who would do something so petty, Eren decided and logged off his account and into the band's. The amount of emails there was about the same as his own, though maybe a little more. Eren scanned them, not really thinking he'd see something worth noting, when his eyes fell on a familiar address. It was Levi's. He bit his lip and clicked it open just when Mikasa came into the room, putting a cup of coffee down next to him.

“Here. You'll need it.” were her words and he hummed, thanking her.

She was about to leave, but he held her back.

“No, stay. You have to read this.” he said, squinting at the screen displaying the violinist's email.

“What is it?” his sister asked and leant over his shoulder to read.

 

_Message from L. Ackermann_

_Hello Titans,_

_I'm writing you to warn you. The papers got wind of the theft and one of the big ones just had a complete and utter bullshit article about it on their front page. They're ripping your band to shreds and I wouldn't be surprised if there's going to be a lot of reporters going to show up soon. I'm already trying to find out who wrote this shit and see what I can do about this atrocity of an article. I'll keep you updated,_

_L. Ackermann_

 

It was short and to the point and Eren was surprised that the violinist had signed the email with his name rather than his alias.

“We needed that yesterday.” Mikasa grunted.

She still wasn't too happy about the prospect of having to talk to those reporters.

“Yeah well, if we _had bothered_ to look at our emails yesterday, we would have known. He sent it last morning, look.”

Eren pointed at the time stamp. It read 6.13am. His sister huffed, clearly annoyed that it was their own fault for not noticing sooner.

“Yeah, well. Is there anything else from him? He said he'll keep us updated.”

“I haven't checked yet...” Eren trailed off and closed the email in order to look for more recent ones.

He indeed found another one that was sent not too long after the first one.

“There's another one.” he clicked it open.

 

_Message from L. Ackermann_

_I'll forego a greeting this time. Seems like the desk of the paper published an anonymously submitted article without checking sources and facts. They promised to print an apology in the evening paper, but I guess the damage's already done by now. If there are any reporters showing up, please let me know._

 

The siblings huffed.

“Now that's rich.” Eren mumbled and then downed his coffee.

“Yeah. We should show the other's when they arrive. Though I think it would be okay if we answer him now. Just let him know that there were reporters on all our front doors.”

“Mhm.” Eren clicked on the 'answer'-button and quickly typed down what Mikasa had said -though he found nicer words to say it.

Mikasa left him then, probably to go dry her hair and prepare the living room for the arrival of the rest of the band. Eren sighed and leant back. The day had barely started and he was already exhausted. What he wouldn't do to catch at least an hour or two more of sleep! Sadly, that wasn't possible for now though, so he would have to do it with a heightened caffeine input. No doubt he would crash spectacularly later today -hopefully only after they had dealt with the reporters.

 

  

 

Much to Levi's surprise, there were no reporters showing up at his place. They must've still been wary of the threat he made once -that if they ever dared to show up at his place, he'd go and find theirs, find every dirty little secret they might have hidden and put it out in the open for everyone to see. No one wanted that to happen, he figured. Sure, he'd have to talk to them eventually, but he'd rather do it on his own terms.

He spent the day discussing possibilities with Hanji, practising his playing and checking his emails for a reply from the band every now and then. He remembered he still had to answer Eren, and through that, the question he had wanted to ask Hanji.

“Hey, Hanji. Do you remember me ever meeting someone by the name of 'Eren'?” he asked her over his cup of tea sometime in the afternoon.

Hanji furrowed her brows in thought.

“Eren, you say? Hm, let me think about it.”

Levi nodded and left her to wreck her enormous brain for the wanted answer. He knew _he_ couldn't think of anyone.

“I'm not too sure, but I think there was some child by that name some years back, when your career just started. He was a cute little one. You should remember him, too. He got lost in the halls after your concert and I found him and brought him along.” Hanji recalled, a small smile on her lips, “I think he had a rat’s nest of messy brown hair and his eyes were a really unusual tone between blue and green?”

Levi cocked his head to a side, he still didn't really remember. He remembered a few lost children Hanji had dragged along to find their parents, but he couldn't put faces or even names to them.

“I think he was about six or seven years old at the time. Oh, and he had really taken to you in no time at all! You were even playing for him and showing him how to hold a violin while we waited for his mother to arrive!” Hanji cooed at the memory.

He glared at her. The dream about a lost child and green eyes he'd had a few days ago came to mind, and then everything clicked into place. He remembered. His subconsciousness had tried to tell him even then that he knew the young man, had indeed met him before.

“Ah.” he marvelled at the revelation of his own mind.

How could he have forgotten that little runt? He actually chuckled, remembering the encounter with the boy and his mother. Had that been over ten (fifteen, even!) years ago?

 

_When he came back from talking to the people at the front desk, Hanji and the little boy were comfortably seated on a couch in high gaderobe, talking animatedly. Levi watched them for a moment to determine a good moment to interrupt them. He didn't have to wait long before Hanji addressed him._

“ _Yo, Levi, what did they say?_ ”

“ _Until just now, no one seemed to be missing a child, but in case someone comes in asking for him, they'll know where to find him. We'll keep him here for an hour, then we'll give him over to the police and they'll handle everything from there and get him home.” Levi shrugged._

_He wasn't too happy to be stuck with a child on top of Hanji, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now._

“ _The police?” the boy spoke up, looking at him with wide eyes._

_Levi wasn't sure if he saw wonder or fear in them. -Probably both._

“ _Yes, the police. They'll take you home if your mother doesn't come to pick you up. Do you know your address?_ ”

“ _No.” the boy's face fell when Levi mentioned that his mother might not come to take him home._

_Thankfully he didn't cry though._

“ _Too bad, but I'm sure your mother will come for you, Eren.” Hanji tried to lighten the child's mood, and sure enough, a bright, sunny smile made its way on his lips._

“ _Yeah! Mum loves me very much! She wouldn't leave me here!” he chimed._

“ _I’m sure she wouldn't. Now, until she comes to get you, would you like to learn a few things about violins?_ ”

_Levi hadn't thought it would be possible, but at Hanji's words, the boy's smile got even wider._

“ _Yes, please!_ ”

“ _Great! I'm sure Levi will show you how to hold a violin and a bow.” Hanji told him._

_The raven glared at his friend. She could do it as well, why did he have to show the brat?_

“ _Really?” the boy's eyes shone with admiration and wonder and Levi found he couldn't deny them anything._

“ _Really.” he confirmed and took his violin out of its case again._

“ _It might be a little too big for you, but you'll get the gist of it.” he told him and set the instrument to his own shoulder to show the child how it was done._

_Eren watched him closely, taking in every move he made, while Levi drew the bow over the strings to coax a few notes from the instrument._

“ _That's seriously so cool!” the boy grinned and Levi found himself nodding, setting the violin down again._

“ _It is. Now stand up. It's better you do it while you are standing.” he instructed the child and Eren complied readily enough._

_Levi gave a small smile of approval and then crouched in front of him, completely ignoring Hanji's curious looks._

_He set the instrument on the boy's shoulder so that it faced in front of him and held it by the neck to stabilize it._

“ _Place your left hand here.” he tapped his left to the place next to where he was still supporting the violin with his own hand._

_Eren did as he was told, eyes wide and shining with excitement._

“ _Like this?_ ”

“ _Yes, like that. The shoulder piece is too high for you, so you won't be able to place your chin on the chin-rest but that's fine for now.” Levi hummed and then held out the bow to the boy._

“ _Be careful not to touch the hair.” he warned and placed those small fingers in their correct position._

_It wasn't that easy because the bow was too big for the boy's still small hand, but oh well. It would work just this once._

“ _Good.” Levi nodded, “Now place the bow on the strings and pull it either down or push it up._ ”

_For now he didn't bother to explain the correct way of moving his arm to the child, and neither the right angle the bow had to be placed in. This one time it really wouldn't be necessary. Eren did it just like he'd seen Levi do it. The sound he produced was a little scratchy and shaky, but the boy's face was alight with happiness. Hanji, who had quietly and curiously followed the two's interactions, smiled, fond of how well Levi handled the child, despite always saying he didn't like brats._

“ _That sounds good, Eren. With a little practice you might just become as good as Levi!” she praised him._

“ _Really?_ ”

“ _Yes, really. Try some more!” she encouraged him, and after Eren gave a questioning look to Levi -who gave an approving nod in return- he pushed and pulled the bow over the strings again and again._

_After a few tries he became more and more comfortable with the instrument. Hanji and Levi watched him, occasionally giving tips or correcting his stance until there was a knock on the door and a woman's voice asked if her lost son was in there. Levi quickly let the woman in, and after watching her scolding the boy for running off without saying a word, she thanked Hanji and him for taking care of her little troublemaker._

“ _I hope he behaved himself!” she frowned, not above an ear pull to teach her son some manners._

“ _Of course! He was the sweetest little angel, Mrs Jaeger!” Hanji smiled._

“ _Okay, if you say so.” the woman smiled a smile identical to the little boy's, “Now, Eren; we need to go home. Be a good boy and say goodbye to your new friends, okay?_ ”

_Eren pouted, but obliged._

“ _Okay, mum. Goodbye, Hanji! Goodbye, Levi!” the boy waved and then followed his mother out._

 

“I remember now.” Levi breathed, a small smile ghosting over his lips.

“Why did you ask, though?” Hanji prodded him for information.

She had watched him intently while he remembered the boy and now she couldn't quite determine what the reason behind that question was. Yes, she was a very clever woman and could draw connections through the tiniest bits of information, but she felt she missed something here.

“Just because.” Levi shrugged.

And that was that. He wouldn't say anything else about it, no matter how much she'd pester him to spill it already.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone who left kudos and comments since the last update, you guys are amazing! :3
> 
> As always, please feel free to leave comments or critiques! I would love to hear your opinions! -they kick my butt into writing gear and keep me motivated, after all! :D I'm always up for a chat with you guys, be it here in the comment section or via ask on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/), either is fine with me, so don't be afraid to drop by sometime! :3 I won't bite you, promise! :D  
> Oh and thanks again [MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) for being such a wonderful beta! ^0^


	8. Chapter 8

Hanji left late that night, claiming she wanted to be there when the band answered him. However when it was just short of midnight, it became clear to even her that there probably wouldn't be an answer. She left only after he promised to tell her once he got an answer -no matter what time it would be. Levi begrudgingly agreed, knowing that if he didn't, he wouldn't get rid of her at all.

When she was gone he wandered through the rooms of his house, thinking and unseeing. His mind was not in the present, but the past, back at that afternoon he remembered earlier that day. The longer he thought about it, the more details came back to his mind. He remembered the boy's clothes, the way his messy hair fell into his eyes and how he brushed the bangs away every so often. Pearly white teeth -not one missing yet- and the unusually bright colour of his eyes. In his mind he compared the child from back then to the young man from the video he had seen a million times over by now. It was obviously him, his eyes and hair had the exact same colour, after all. Though there hadn't been even the hint of a smile on his face in the video. And while Levi thought it let him look older than he was, he also thought the young man would look a lot better smiling and laughing.

He frowned. He shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that. The young violinist may be an adult by now, but that didn't change the fact that Levi still was over a decade older than him. Sure, Hanji would be overjoyed should she learn of this, but he would be damned before he would let her find out. He couldn't help it, though. Eren was his type and he couldn't help but notice these things about him. However, he would never act on a simple feeling of aesthetic attraction. Instead he would hope that by the time this whole ordeal was done and over with, he would've gotten over it and moved on. Of course he wouldn't stop all contact with Eren then, though. He still wanted to work with him and he wasn’t willing to give up easily when he wanted something. He would convince Eren to work with him, even if it might take him some time.

Levi wasn't too sure about how long he had been wandering through his home, but he eventually fell to bed, mentally tired and exhausted and finally decided that he would answer Eren's email in the morning. He had left him waiting for long enough, hadn't he?

In the morning, Levi woke up without an alarm or from Hanji calling him. By the pale light filtering through the blinds he could tell that it was still very early in the morning, but he didn't mind today. He couldn't have been asleep for more than a few hours, but he felt rested and relaxed nonetheless. Slowly he got up and went through his morning routine on autopilot. Shower, brushing his teeth, clothes, tea. Only then did he start his laptop and opened his email program. And just a second later he saw the reply from the band. Levi read through it. It was short and to the point and even without the signature he could have told that it was Eren informing him of the reporters that showed up the day before.

 

_Message from Titans_

_Hello Rivaille,_

_we weren't aware of that article. So thank you for informing us about it and the possibility of reporters showing up. We were unlucky though; we didn't see your emails until just now, so we were completely unprepared. However, all of us managed to evade them. Now we are going to meet at one of our places and see if the reporters show up again. Do you have any tips for what to say to them if they show up again? Possibly something to get rid of them for good?_

_Best regards,_

_Eren from Titans_

 

With no word the violinist implied that he and Levi had been in contact for days now, and Levi wondered if maybe the rest of the band didn't know about it at all. Not that he particularly cared, but if Eren really was a fan of his, shouldn't he have said something to them? He wondered but then decided not to dwell on it. With a look to the time stamp he determined that the email had been sent not even half an hour ago and went to typing out his reply before he focused on the email he would send to Eren privately. Before he was even halfway done however, there came another email to his inbox. It was from the band again, and Levi frowned. This one wasn't written by Eren. The general sound and wording were different. Too polite for it to be him. And sure enough, there was another name given as signature. Armin. Levi frowned. Which one of those kids was Armin?

 

_Message from Titans_

_Good morning Mr. Rivaille,_

_thank you for offering us to help dealing with those reporters. None of us really had to do that before, and we have two people who are rather hot headed and would probably mess everything up even more, so it would be great if you could provide us with some advice. After all, you should be used to dealing with them, right? I don't know, do you have Skype? Talking about this probably would be easier than writing email after email. If you do, you can find us under our band account 'Titans band'._

_Thanks again, Armin from Titans_

 

   

 

Armin was the first one to show up at Eren's and Mikasa's, but that was to be expected. He lived close by.

“No reporters anywhere in sight!” he informed the siblings once the door was closed behind him.

“Great, then come on. You have something to read!” Eren practically pulled him to his room and sat him down in front of his laptop, clicking the emails from Rivaille open.

Armin's sky blue eyes scanned them in record time, their expression changing from confusion to surprise to determination. When Eren showed him his answer, he nodded.

“Well, at least you didn't explode on him.” he teased and Eren grumbled something about having more self-control than that.

“No, you don't. But it's okay. Let's see, did he answer you? ”Armin laughed and shook his head before he reloaded the site to see if there were any new emails.

And sure enough, there was a new unread email from the famous violinist.

 

_Message from L. Ackermann_

_Hello Titans,_

_well, I'd say you've been lucky under the circumstances, at least. You should be happy. Those vultures are a pain in the ass to deal with. Don't give them anything. The tiniest bit of information will have them asking a thousand and more new questions, so it's best to say as little as possible. I think I can tell what they want to know most, and it has to be addressed in public eventually, but I'd rather do that on my own than let you deal with it. However, there's nothing you can say to get rid of them for now, but whatever they ask you, you shouldn't give them anything at all, really. Just tell them 'no comment' and be on your way. That's probably the best course of action for now._

_Regards, L. Ackermann_

 

The two boys frowned at the email, but it's not like they were expecting anything special in the first place. Armin sighed.

“Well, we figured as much already.” he pouted and Eren shrugged.

“Well yeah. It's not like he could do anything anyway from wherever he lives at.”

“Oh come on, Eren. As if you don't know where he lives!”

“No, really. You know he's always been extremely secretive with that stuff. No one even knows his name!”

Well, that was a lie, but Armin didn't need to know that. And besides, just because he knew the violinist's name didn't mean he automatically knew where he lived, too.

“Hm. I guess you're right. Though we at least know his last name now.” the blond pointed to the email and its signature.

Eren nodded, trying to look surprised and elated to learn something apparently new about his idol.

“Can you answer him? You're better with words than I am.” Eren proposed.

“Sure. I'll see if I can get something more out of him.”

“Thank you. I'll go help Mika.”

 

The rest of the band arrived within an hour of Armin's arrival. And apparently none of them had encountered any reporters this early in the morning. Mikasa, Eren, and Armin informed them of the emails they had received and the answers they had written in return so far while they had breakfast.

“So does that mean we won't tell them we're in contact with him?” Jean asked again, just to be sure.

“Ah, no. We'll wait and see what he answered -Eren, can you go check if he did already?- and then we'll go from there.”

“Okay.” Jean huffed and Marco and Annie nodded in understanding.

Eren shoved the last spoon of his cereal into his mouth before he went and did what had been asked of him. He didn't want to seem too eager to hear more from Levi. He checked the inbox while he was still in his room, and there was indeed a new email for them. Eren grinned when he read it.

 

_Message from L. Ackermann_

_There really isn't much to bear in mind when dealing with reporters, but I guess it won't hurt to give you lot a few tips. We can skype as long as you don't expect me to show my face and I don't have to see yours. I'll add you in a moment, then we can take it from there._

 

It was short, but to the point. Eren hadn't expected anything else really.

“Guys, he agreed!” he hollered from his room, grabbed his laptop and carried it with him back to the living room.

The others were all talking at once, wanting more details. Eren tried to answer their questions.

“He agreed to skyping with us, but no camera.” he shrugged.

To him it didn't matter.

“He didn't give a specific time, but I guess whenever we're ready should be fine. He seems to have been waiting for our emails, so I suppose he'd want to get done with this.”

Annie and Armin agreed to that with a nod and the others accepted silently. They finished their meal and cleared the table so they could place the laptop there.

“So, before we start -who's going to talk to him? We probably shouldn't all be talking. With just our voices he won't be able to tell all of us apart.”

“You should, Armin. You were talking in the video, too. And you have your brain to work for you, too. You won't forget to ask anything we might need to know.”

The blond huffed. He really should have figured as much.

“Fine! I'll do most of the talking.”

That all the others would be listening in was out of the question, so they all settled around the table and Armin started Skype with the band's account logged in. Just like expected, they had a new friend's request from 'L. Ackermann'.

 

   

 

He didn’t have to wait too long for the band to start up their Skype. While he waited, he had called Hanji and informed her of the recent exchange of emails. To say the woman was overjoyed and excited was an understatement. Had he not threatened her to go looking for another violin maker who'd take care of his babies, she'd be barrelling through his front door by now. This way, he had managed to convince her to stay at home with the promise to give her another call when there were any more news. He didn't want to have to deal with her exuberant nature for a whole day _again_. He needed his peace and quiet every once in a while, and he planned to enjoy this day to the fullest, once this call was done and over with and he had filled her in.

For now though, he probably should concentrate on the matter at hand. With a sigh, he opened the chat window for the band and waited for them to start the call. Not a second later the obnoxious sound of someone calling him rang through his living room and he accepted it before the ringing got too annoying. It was silent between them for a second or two before Levi was greeted by a hesitant voice.

“ _Hello... Mr. Rivaille?”_ someone asked and he thought the voice was vaguely familiar.

“Good morning.” Levi returned the greeting, not at all sounding or feeling hesitant about this call.

Rather, he was annoyed at the situation and he didn't have enough control over himself to keep that annoyance from filtering through his tone of voice. It couldn't be helped though and he only hoped the band at least knew of his reputation of being grumpy and grouchy with everyone he talked to.

“ _So, uhm... thank you for agreeing to talk to us, I guess?”_ the same voice as before said and Levi gave a sharp nod, though the people on the other end couldn't possibly see it.

“Sure. Now, care to tell me who the heck I'm talking to?”

“ _Oh! Sorry, I forgot! I'm Armin.”_ the voice scrambled to explain and Levi suppressed an amused huff.

“Ah, so it's you. You were the one talking in the video, too. No wonder your voice was familiar.”

“ _You saw that?!”_ another voice spoke up, one he hadn't heard before and was definitely female.

He was about to confirm it, but another girl shushed her.

He heard a hushed _“Mikasa! You can't say something like that!”_ and then there was a little ruckus before the one named Armin spoke up again.

“ _Ah, sorry about that. I guess we didn't really expect you to see our video. Though we probably should have.”_

“It's fine. I take it I'm talking to all of you right now?”

“ _Well, yeah. I'll do most of the talking, but everyone is here and listening.”_

Levi nodded. That was good, he figured. Like this he wouldn't have to repeat himself and everyone would get the same info. Belatedly he realized that this also meant that he was talking to Eren, too. He bit down on the inside of his cheek. Now was _not_ the time to be thinking about such things!

“Okay. So you said you wanted help dealing with those vultures?” he prompted.

“ _Yes. I mean; we kind of planned to just tell them we were already in contact with you and trying to solve the matter and leave it at that, but you said we shouldn't say anything at all. Won't they just keep harassing us if we don't say anything?”_

“Sooner or later they will give up. Most likely when I schedule another press conference about the matter. But until then, you'd have to deal with it.”

“ _So you're basically saying you don't want our version of this to come out to the public?”_ another, to him unknown voice said, this time male.

“ _Jean!”_ Armin berated the speaker, but before he could say anything else, Levi spoke up again.

“Not at all. You asked for advice, and that is what I'm doing. By no means you have to do what I tell you. If you want to tell them, do it for all I care, but don't come running back to me when it gets too much for you to deal with.” he shrugged.

He really couldn't care less, but he figured he owed them at least this much, so he tried to at least look like he did.

“ _Jeez, no need to be so sassy.”_ Jean back pedalled -or at least Levi thought it was him.

“I wasn't sassing you, dipshit. I just stated the truth. If you don't like it, that is not my problem.” he corrected and he thought that would settle it, but he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

“ _What did you say, shrimp?!”_ Jean roared at the same time as laughter echoed though his speakers.

There was a sound of something toppling over and then Jean's angry cries subsided. The laughter quieted down, too.

“ _Oh god, that was great!”_ a voice full of mirth giggled, _“You have to tell me how you did that! I haven't seen him like this in ages!”_

Levi frowned.

It was another unknown voice, but one he found he liked more than the others he had heard so far.

“I didn't do anything special. You can tell this Jean-guy” Levi worked his tongue around the name like it was an especially annoying speck of dirt that just wouldn't go away, no matter how hard he scrubbed at it, “that if he ever dares to call me a shrimp again I will find him and I will make sure he'll be at least ten inches shorter than me by the time I'm done with him. See who is the shrimp then.”

The threat was spoken calmly, but not without allowing a certain degree of mischief to resonate with his words. Another fit of giggles erupted from that, though this time he was sure there was more than one person laughing.

“ _I'll make sure to tell him, then. God, this is going to be good.”_

“ _If you do that, he'll kill you. You know that.”_

“ _Oh, he can try, but you know just as well as I do that he won't manage to go through with it, Armin. Marco is going to stop him before that happens.”_

“ _Eren! You're impossible!”_

“ _Only where Jean is concerned! It's too much fun to mess with him!”_ Eren giggled again and Levi followed the exchange with held breath.

Shit, he had talked to Eren. Without knowing it. Had made him laugh, too. Without even trying. He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts back on track.

“Well, if you do end up telling him, tell me how he reacted. I want to know if I have to go through with that threat.” he grinned, pleased with himself.

It was surprisingly easy to talk to these young people. They were easy to be around and he found they didn't mind his rudeness too much. Though he had tried to hold back most of it until now.

“ _Sure thing!”_ Eren readily agreed and then let Armin take over again.

And just like that, they went back to business and tried to figure out the best course of action.

 

   

 

They had been talking to Levi for the better part of an hour, before they worked out a plan to deal with the reporters. They decided to go with Armin's initial idea and Levi promised to schedule a press conference first thing on Monday morning, where he would tell the same thing to the reporters.

“That went surprisingly well, don't you think?” Armin wanted to know, once they had ended the call and were all back to hanging around the sibling's living room.

The group nodded in unison, though Jean was still miffed that the violinist so easily had gotten the best of him.

“It did.” Mikasa hummed.

“Yes. Now we only need to wait for the reporters to start showing up.” Marco agreed; it was the first thing he said since breakfast.

“Well, I still hope they won't.” Annie huffed, Jean and Armin nodding along.

It was still very early in the morning -not even 8am just yet- and they didn't think the reporters would show up until maybe 9 or 10am. It was a Saturday after all. And they would've been suicidal to try and come there before that time, given it was the weekend and people usually tended to stay in bed longer on those. Eren yawned.

“I think I'm going to try and take a nap until they show up.” he mumbled, but didn't wait for anyone to say something to stop him.

He grabbed his laptop and sauntered off to his room, closing the door after him to block out the sounds of the band's antics in his living room. Safely inside, he allowed a stupid grin to finally make its way to his lips. He had talked to Levi! He had actually talked to him and he had answered. And he didn't even stutter once! It may have helped that he didn't have to see the man while they were talking, but that was a minor detail he was willing to overlook in favour of the greater picture. He had talked to his idol, his childhood-hero! How could he be anything but overjoyed and perfectly happy right now? There was no way he would be able to sleep now, even though he had said so to the others just now. It was just a ruse to get some time alone, away from Armin's and Mikasa' ever-knowing eyes. They knew how he must be feeling right now, after all they had been with him since forever and knew better than anyone else just how much he idolized the violinist.

He flopped down on his bed, burying his face in his pillow and trying to muffle the squeals that threatened to spill out. It took him a while, but he managed to calm down enough to pull up his laptop and log into his email account. If Levi had written to the band, then maybe he had answered his private email too by now. Eren sincerely hoped so. He scrolled through the list and was about to disappointedly close the site, when it refreshed and he saw what he had been searching for.

 

_Message from L. Ackermann_

_You are right, as of now, I am keeping something from you. However, it is nothing you need to worry about. I'll admit it has to do with the theft and the suspicions I mentioned, but I can't tell you more than this before I don't know more about the details myself. Trust me, I will tell you and the band once I know for certain. It might just take some more time._

_You're a stubborn one, aren't you? I don't care how many more people there might be, more fitting to work with me. I don't work with just anyone. You should know that if you've really been following my career. You should also know that usually I get what I want. I'll wait for you to change your mind. It will happen eventually._

_Well, I don't think your songs are nothing special, but you'll have to come to that conclusion on your own. Just accept that I like them and don't hang yourself up over the fact that I'm a famous violinist and therefore shouldn't be able to enjoy some amateur's music. Because that is a load of bullshit, Eren, and you need to stop putting me up on that pedestal. I'm just as human as you are. I just had more luck than you did, apparently. But that's literally the only difference between us._

_It's good to hear you don't want to involve the law. Saves all of us a fuck ton of money. And it makes for less publicity, too. Thank God._

_You know, when you said we had met before, I was confused. I whacked my brain for days until I finally asked a friend of mine if she knew someone by your name. I really didn't remember you until she started to tell me about a little boy we had met over fifteen years ago. He had been lost after a concert and we watched him until his mother arrived to pick him up. I even showed him how to play the violin. I've never done that for any other lost child Hanji showed up with. Neither before nor after that boy came along. When she described the boy to me that was when I realized it was you. It is you, isn't it? You are the boy from back then, right? I only made the connection because of your band's video, but I'd say it still counts. Though I have to say that I'm amazed that you managed to remember my name even from back then. Most children tend to forget encounters like the one we had easily enough. I certainly did forget all about it until just yesterday, just like you thought I had._

_On another note; I meant what I said earlier. You need to tell me how Jean reacted to my threat. You haven't told him already, have you?_

_Levi_

 

Eren almost squealed again. Levi remembered him! _He remembered him!_

“Oh my god!” he murmured, trying to fight a blush that threatened to make its way to his face and shook his head, still not really believing that that just happened.

He wouldn't have dared to even hope for this outcome. And now Levi not only remembered him, but also talked to him and apparently wanted to keep talking to him! Eren thought he was the luckiest guy on earth.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And thus, it has started._ Now we're getting to the good stuff. Finally! :D
> 
> Thanks again to everyone who left kudos and comments since the last update, you guys are amazing! :3
> 
> As always, please feel free to leave comments or critiques! I would love to hear your opinions! -they kick my butt into writing gear and keep me motivated, after all! :D I'm always up for a chat with you guys, be it here in the comment section or via ask on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/), either is fine with me, so don't be afraid to drop by sometime! :3 I won't bite you, promise! :D  
> Thanks again [MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) for being such a wonderful beta! ^0^
> 
> On another note, I know I've recently been able to update this once a week. However, I'm not sure I'll be able to provide you guys with an update next week. Not because I won't have time to write, but because I want to get a little ahead of things and have a little buffer to fall back on in case something comes up. I know it's mean to make you wait now that this chapter is out and things finally get a move on, but what can I do? I love teasing you! x)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I guess I just finished two chapters in one week, which is why I can update this now instead of next week, as I had initially planned. Yay!
> 
> I'm officially one chapter ahead on this one, but that doesn't mean I'll start slacking off now. I'll keep writing and hopefully we get to the really good stuff soon :x
> 
> Now, please enjoy!
> 
> Oh, and I should probably warn you; there's a lot of swearing going on in this chapter. ^^"

Eren was still giddy and unbelievably happy by the time the bell rang for the first time. He also hadn't had felt it in him to be able to answer Levi's email just yet. Though the man probably was waiting for it. After all, he knew Eren was awake and had most likely seen it by now. But Eren wasn't able to think of anything for longer than a moment because his thoughts constantly came back to the few words he had exchanged with Levi.

He had sounded just like Eren thought he remembered, maybe slightly more indifferent, but who cared? Levi -in Eren's opinion- was a mysterious fellow. He kept to himself and hardly ever allowed his feelings or thoughts to shine through his demeanour, so Eren was surprised when he had talked to them so openly -had even entertained them. Though that probably hadn't been intentional. Eren smiled when he thought about the threat the man had aimed at Jean. He didn't doubt for a second that Levi meant every word of it and would go through with it if he had a reason to do so. Levi _did_ have a reputation for doing things like this, after all.

Eren hummed happily and reread the email when the bell rang. It was a quarter to ten and he figured it was about time for the reporters to show up. With a sigh he got up from his bed and went to meet the others at the door.

“Everyone ready?” Mikasa looked them over, earning sombre looks and nods from all of them.

“Let's go, then.” she gave a tight smile and they left the security of Eren's and her flat.

Luckily these people hadn't managed to get into the building, so they could meet them outside. They took Armin in their middle, Eren and Mikasa on either side of him and Jean, Marco and Annie fanning out close behind them. Even before they left the small foyer area they could hear them.

The buzz of people animatedly talking and even a few clicks of a camera every now and then.

“Well then. Here goes nothing...” Armin murmured, took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

 

Later, Eren wouldn't be able to tell much about what happened after that. It was mostly a blur of colours and voices and sounds. He was overwhelmed and he could tell the others were, too. Armin was exhausted. Seeing as he had willingly done most of the talking -which was repeatedly telling them that they were in contact with Rivaille and wouldn't say anything else right now- it was understandable. Eren felt sorry for him and when he saw that the others didn't fare much better, he told the reporters off. He had tried to stay friendly, but his voice was firm and the glare he sent them didn't allow for any protests to be made or more questions asked. He also politely asked them not to stay around or follow the others in order to speak to them separately. They had told them all they were willing to share, would they please understand and _leave_ now? Thankfully, they seemed to get the hint, so the band was able to spend a lazy afternoon in the flat.

Marco and Armin were out like lights the second they were comfortable on the couch, and Annie dozed off in the armchair not too much later.

“Yo, Eren. Can I borrow your bed for a little while? I need to catch a few Z's, too.” Jean requested.

Eren shrugged.

“Sure. But no funny business, Jean.” he joked.

He was tired too, but he had already decided to spend this day under a high dosage of caffeine. Jean grumbled something and left the room, leaving Eren and Mikasa as the only two awake. He sighed.

“You want another coffee?” he offered to make one for her too, when he was at it anyway.

“Yes, thank you.” she smiled and followed him to the kitchen, so they wouldn't disturb the sleepers.

“Do you think that went well?”

“As well as it could have gone, Eren. There's nothing to be done about these people. They'll be back soon enough.”

“I know. There's no helping it.” he frowned and spooned coffee powder into the machine.

“Eren- stop fretting. We did what Rivaille said we should. Now we have to wait and see.”

“I guess you're right, Mika...”

“I am. By the way, Eren. You didn't say if you had responded to that one email from him. You seemed to be pretty much at ease talking to him this morning.” Mikasa observed.

Eren gave her an unreadable look, before he waved her off.

“Well, yes. We have been emailing back and forth a few times now.” he wasn't willing to give her any more details than that, though.

“Oh, okay.” Mikasa blinked owlishly, having not expected that answer, “What did he say?”

“I'd rather not tell for now.” Eren evaded the question and poured water into the coffee machine before he started it up.

“Oh?”

“Hmhm.” he nodded.

Mikasa sighed.

“Fine. But you'll tell me if anything comes up or he comes off as shady.” she pretty much ordered while she grabbed a bar of chocolate from her stash.

“Of course I will, Mika.” Eren huffed.

His sister was as mistrusting towards strangers as ever and it didn't help that Eren had practically worshipped said man for the better part of his life so far. Not to mention that he'd done so behind her back. He could understand her worries, but he was no idiot. He could take care of himself! It was futile though to try and convince her of that. She was stubborn as a mule on that matter. Just like him.

 

 

 

Levi sighed and leant back on his couch. He had just hung up his call to Hanji, after he had given her an account of the conversation he'd had with the band -he had skilfully left out his little banter with Jean and his following discussion with Eren- and the woman had had a thousand and one questions for him. Sometimes she was worse than all the reporters combined, he thought, but he had at least tried to answer most of them, knowing that the sooner they finished, the more time of day he would have to himself. He was tired, but he knew he wouldn't be able to go to sleep again anyway, so he decided he'd just sit here on his couch and relax for a while until he felt like doing something else.

He knew he would have to practice his playing some time today, but it was still too early for that. And he hadn't even had breakfast yet. Speaking of; maybe he should make something. And then he would clean his house until it was spotless before he would start practice, he decided. That sounded like a plan. And it would -hopefully- keep him from thinking too much about his conversation with and the emails from Eren, or better: Eren in general.

Levi was surprised how so little contact with the young man had him so effectively trapped in his snares. He had never been one to easily crush on someone, let alone let someone get so close to him so fast. But with Eren it felt just so natural that he couldn't really help it. It just happened. Now that he thought about it, it had been the exact same all those years ago. Though back then there definitely was no physical attraction involved. Eren had been a child then and Levi was hardly more than a teenager. Still, the thought of possibly liking someone so much younger than him creeped him out. And especially so because he had met Eren as a child.

God, he was messed up.

Levi glared at the wall, hoping that if he stared hard enough, it would crumble. It didn't, of course, and he knew he should just let it go. Hopefully this thing would leave him alone sooner rather than later. And until then he should just try not to think about it too much. He sighed and got up to get started on his plan for the day.

Late that evening he checked his emails, only to be disappointed that there was no reply from Eren yet and scolding himself for even being disappointed in the same breath. From the way it looked, Eren should have been with the band all day and surely wouldn't have had the time to check his emails, let alone reply to them. So he really shouldn't have been expecting anything, but he couldn't help it. He muttered to himself -this was ridiculous! If Hanji knew he was acting like a spoiled teenager with a crush she'd be all over him by now and trying to get him to ask Eren out. Not that he would ever surrender to her pestering, though. But he knew what that woman was capable of doing, and it could be terrifying, had he not been used to it by now anyway.

 

His Sunday was spent similar to the day before, minus the calls from Hanji and the band, and Levi managed to get his thoughts back on track. Mostly, anyway. He spent the majority of the day practising and tried not to think much about anything, until his phone rang. He glared at the number. It was another unknown one and he was tempted to just let it ring, but then the thing with Nile came to his mind and he answered the call, though wary.

“Yes? This is Rivaille speaking.” he never used his real name when he answered calls, in case there was someone else calling him other than the one's name his display supplied him with. Paranoid? Maybe a little, yes. But he had his reasons.

“Rivaille! The fuck is wrong with you? The police? Didn't I tell you not to make a big deal out of this?”

“Nile? Is that you?”

“Fuck! Yes, it's me.”

“The heck, Nile?! What the hell are you up to?”

“None of your business, Rivaille. You just need to do as I say, or your career is ruined.”

Levi hissed.

“What the fuck, Nile? What is wrong with you?!”

“Not me. You! You are the problem! You and your fuckin stubbornness and incapability to do as I say! What were you thinking, bringing the police into this?!”

“For your information, Nile: You have been gone from the face of earth for _two fuckin days_. No one was able to reach you, not even Mary! You vanished into thin air! We were _worried_ about you! And then you call me in the middle of the fucking night and order me to your apartment -one of which Mary doesn't know it even exists, I'd bet- like it's the most ordinary thing in the world! What the hell?! Nile, we were _-are-_ worried about you! What is going on with you? And while we're at it; _why the fuck did you steal that band's song?!_ ” Levi ranted, not willing to let the man speak before this was out of his system.

He needed to blow off some steam.

“Also, where the hell are you? What are you doing right now, because in case you forgot; _you are my manager!_ You should be here, doing your god-fucking-damn _job_ and not whatever it is you're doing right now!”

“Fuck, Levi!” Levi vaguely registered Nile using his given name, “If you don't do as I say I'll have to just ruin your career, don't I? I thought doing this with the stolen song would be enough” -Levi growled in anger and frustration- “but apparently it wasn't.”

“Are you saying you let me play and use that song _on purpose_? That you _planned_ for all of this to happen?!”

“Why, yes. Of course. How else was I to destroy your image?” the man actually had the guts to laugh at him then.

_Laugh!_

“Why would you want to do that, Nile? What have I done to you? And why did you have to involve that band? Whatever you think I have done to you -they had nothing to do with it, they're innocent people!”

“Casualties, Levi dear. That's what they are. But you shouldn't get too worked up about this. It's nothing personal. At least, not entirely.”

 _The fuck?!_ Levi couldn't believe what he was hearing. This wasn't Nile. This wasn't like him at all. Sure, Nile was a surly guy with a kind of twisted view on most things, but this was too much, even for him.

“Nile-”

“No, Levi. You call off the cops or there'll be more problems for you than just a stolen song.” Nile threatened him -not that Levi would let himself be threatened though.

“Oh? And if I don't? What are you going to do then?” he allowed himself a low chuckle, despite the fact that he was a little more than just simply _pissed_.

There wasn't much that Nile actually knew about him and even less that he could be threatened with.

“You'll see soon enough, if you don't do as I say. Call. The. Cops. Off.”

“No.”

“Fine. Have it your way, then.”

The line went dead then. Nile had hung up on him.

“Fucking hell...” Levi muttered, staring at his phone for a moment before he dialled another number.

 

 

 

Sunday came and went for the band and was mostly spent on their coursework and assignments. Because despite their music, all of them intended to graduate their college with good grades, in case they would need them in the future. What was pretty much likely, honestly. They weren't that popular, hardly more than a regional attraction at this point, even though their music was good and the feedback they got over the internet wasn't something to scoff at. Maybe it was because they were focusing more on their studies than their music at the moment, but they didn't really care. They hadn't seriously tried to become popular just yet. Though none of them doubted that at least Eren would go professional after graduation; be it with the band or on his own.

However, at the moment their thoughts were focused on other things than the far away future. The most pressing matter on their minds was the very near future, meaning the next day. Even though it was no use fretting over it just yet, they were already pondering about how the press conference the violinist wanted to schedule would go.

“It's no use to worry over that now.” Marco finally concluded, “We did all we could yesterday. The rest is up to him.”

“Yeah, you're right. Let's just hope they'll leave us alone after that.” Jean agreed, though he was still sour with the man.

“I think it'll be fine. Also, we should probably all get going soon. It's getting late and we all have courses tomorrow.” Armin called the day to an end.

It didn't take long for the group to break up after that, and for the first time that weekend, Eren and Mikasa were alone in their flat.

“Finally some peace and quiet.” Eren hummed and Mikasa agreed with a silent nod.

“Yeah. It was about time. You want to watch a movie or something before we go to bed?”

Eren considered his options for a second and then shook his head, declining the offer.

“Nah. I think I'll practice a little before I go to bed. I haven't really played since Thursday. Can't allow myself to take an even longer break.”

“Ah, you're right. Well, good night then, Eren.”

“Good night, Mika.” Eren smiled and left her alone in the living room.

Back in his room, he immediately picked up his violin. At first he did simple scales and a few old children's songs he knew by heart, to get his fingers stretched and flexible before he went to concentrate on the more complicated stuff. He wasn't sure for how long he played or what, since he completely lost himself in the music. His thoughts floated around in his mind, raising and falling with the sound of his music. He knew he was in a better mood than usual, even with all those reporters sitting in the back of his neck. And though he tried to deny it, he knew it came from knowing that his idol remembered him.

He had always wondered about that, had always thought that their meeting most likely hadn't been anything special to Levi at all. And his last email had confirmed that, but Eren didn't care. Not now, not anymore. He was simply happy to have been recognized by Levi. That they seemed to get along just fine was a great bonus, of course, and he hoped that maybe they could stay in contact once all of this was over, but he tried not to get his hopes too high up. Now, of course Eren remembered Levi's words from the email well enough: _'I don't work with just anyone.', 'I usually get what I want.'_ and _'I'll wait for you to change your mind.'_ They were pretty hard to misunderstand after all, but Eren could never be too sure. However, he tried not to think too hard about that, deciding that it might be better to just let things happen as they came.

Eren only stopped playing when the time neared midnight and he knew he should be going to bed soon. His first class didn't start before 9 a.m., but he wasn't exactly what one would call a morning person and he valued his sleep, so he'd at least get in as many hours as possible when he could.

 

Monday morning went by agonizingly slow for Eren. The moment he and Mikasa left for college, they were swarmed by reporters again. Not as many as there had been on Saturday, but still more than enough. They pushed passed them without saying anything. At college they went their separate ways, but even there they weren't completely safe from curious looks and the questions of their peers. Apparently, the newspaper article had made its round through the college, too.

Eren was about to snap at them when he and all the other members of the band were suddenly called out through the speakers. He sighed, packed up his things and left for the Dean’s office.

“Any ideas why we're here?” Jean asked once everyone arrived.

“Not in the slightest.” Eren shrugged.

“Could be because of the article in the newspaper and all those reporters roaming the campus?” Armin offered and they gave a collective groan at that.

That wasn't their fault and there wasn't anything they could possibly do about that. Before they could say anything else however, the secretary herded them into the office.

 

 

 

Scheduling the press conference himself was a hassle and a pain in the ass. Especially so since he didn't have access to Nile's calendar for him. Of course, Levi knew the more important dates and appointments, but he never bothered to mark down every little one. In the end, he just decided on a day and time and _hoped_ that he did not have any other events planned at the time.

He didn't manage to get a conference on that same day, as he had hoped he would, so he settled for the next best thing, which was Tuesday afternoon. He hoped the band would manage to hold their own against the reporters until then.

When that was settled, he set about making a few other calls.

Levi needed to find a new manager, judging by what happened the day before with Nile. Obviously that man did no longer wish to work for him -clearly so- and Levi had no intentions of having people work for him when they didn't want to, or, for whatever reason, couldn't stand him anymore. He still wondered what Nile had been going on about and he knew he'd find out eventually, but it was no use to try and figure it out now. There were more important things to be dealt with at the moment. The police would handle Nile, he was sure.

After Nile had hung up on him the day before, Levi had immediately called them, reporting Nile's call and what he said. He also said that he wasn't too worried about Nile's threats, but they advised him to be cautious nonetheless. Better safe than sorry, they said. And they were right, of course. Later in the day there would be an officer stopping by to take up his testimony and Levi had already prepared notes so he wouldn't forget anything about the call.

By the time the day was over and he was ready to fall into a -hopefully- dreamless sleep, Levi was tired and exhausted, but he forced himself to stay awake for a little longer, checking his emails again. He hadn't done that all day and he really hoped he'd have a reply from Eren by now, as pathetic as that may be. Reading the other's emails was always a little uplifting for him, taking away some of his mental exhaustion and the tiredness heavy in his bones. It helped a lot that Eren was so genuine about everything he said and did. He never gave off the feeling of forcing anything, and Levi secretly admired that.

While he himself could never be assed to do anything he didn't like and always stayed in a more or less nonchalant, rude masquerade to keep people away, Eren seemed to draw them in wherever he went. Not that Levi envied him for that -hell no, dealing with people never was one of his strong points- but he wondered how the kid did it. He sighed, scrolling through his emails and hoping to spot the by now familiar address. And sure enough, there it was. Sent only a few hours ago.

 

_Message from E.J._

_Well, I guess I'll have to accept that for now, then. I don't like it one bit, but I guess there's nothing I can do. But don't you dare keeping this to yourself for longer than absolutely necessary! This affects the band too, I suppose, so we have a right to know this, whatever it is._

_Damn right I am stubborn. But I have to be if I'm up against Mika and Armin. Those two are evil when they gang up on me! I suppose I should let you know I don't plan on changing my mind anytime soon, so I'm not too sure you'll get what you want this time around. What was that one saying? You can't have everything you wish for? I think that fits perfectly._

_That's wrong. You having more luck than me isn't the only difference between us, Levi. There's a ton more than that, trust me. I know. However, I'm not going to point them out to you. You'll have to find them on your own._

_I didn't think you would remember me. I didn't think you would even spend so much time on it as you apparently have. I thought you'd let it go after a moment of thinking about it, honestly. You really surprised me when you said you remembered me. Though I guess I have to thank Hanji for that, don't I? Can you express my thanks to her? I still remember her, too. She was really kind to me back then, even though I have to admit I was a little scared of her huge glasse_ _ s  _ _before she actually talked to me. But don't tell her that! Please!_

_How could I have not remembered you, though? I've been a fan of yours even before that concert mom took me to, so there was never a chance I could or would forget you. I remember mom later telling me that I kept babbling about it for weeks and weeks afterwards to the point I was annoying the shit out of everyone around me. Even her. And she usually was a very patient person, too._

_No, I haven't told Jean yet. I'm saving that for the next time he gets cocky about it again. It will happen eventually. Maybe I can even get Armin to cooperate and record it? So you have proof? In case he decides he wants to sue you or something. He did that before, so it's not above him._

_Oh, I have a question, but you don't have to answer or you can just ignore it in case it weirds you out or you don't want to or anything, really. I would totally understand that! It's just -would you be willing to add me in Skype, too? Talking and discussing things would be a lot easier than having to wait for emails all the time and then having to type so much to answer them. But that's only my personal opinion, really, and of course you don't have to if you don't want to. In case you want to, my account name is 'Jaegeren'._

_Eren_

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who left kudos and comments since the last update, you guys are amazing! You guys make my day everytime I see a new comment x3
> 
> Please leave a little feedback for me, people! I would love to hear your opinions! -They kick my butt into writing gear and keep me motivated, after all! :D I'm always up for a chat with you guys, be it here in the comment section or via ask on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/), either is fine with me, so don't be afraid to drop by sometime! :3 I won't bite you, promise! :D
> 
> I have to say it though; I'm already exited about the next chapter and how you'll all receive it! :3 I'm gonna have to work through a few things before I'll upload it sometime next weekend, and I think there's quite a bit of editing going to happen, but I hope you'll all like it in the final version! x3 It's either going online friday or saturday night CET, which should be some time in late afternoon for most american people, I think? QAQ
> 
> Thanks again [MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) for being such a wonderful beta! ^0^
> 
> Anyway, I think I've rambled enough for now, so I'll be back next week! :)  
> 


	10. Chapter 10

By Monday night, Eren was fed up with everything. His anger had been slowly simmering away all day since he left the flat in the morning and the events of the day had just fuelled it further. But he couldn't allow himself to lose his temper now. He knew the people and all of those _damn_ reporters were watching every little step he took, eagerly awaiting any mistake he might make.

Their visit to the Dean had hardly been something to be happy about. To say they were all pissed afterwards was the understatement of the year. Even Armin and Marco had cursed the man, and those two usually were saints and never swore. But that just showed how fucked up everything was, really.

He sighed and plopped down on his bed, ignoring Mikasa's question of what was eating at him. Sure, she'd at least try to understand him, but earlier attempts had proven again and again that she couldn't. Not completely, anyway. Which is why he let it go now. Better to take an anger-management-nap or play his violin until his fingers bled - not literally, of course.

Eren grumbled unintelligible things into his pillow for a minute or two before he snagged his laptop from his desk and started it up. He had written to Levi earlier and though he didn't really think there'd be a reply already, he still couldn't help but wanted to check. The moment the starting process was done and he had automatically logged into his Skype account, it dinged with a message for him.

That in itself was nothing new -happened all the time.

What was new, was that down in the right corner of his screen, the program informed him of the fact that 'L. Ackermann' had requested an exchange of contact information.

Eren gasped.

Stared a little longer at the orange box before it blended out and shook his head in disbelieve.

He had asked the man, sure, but he hadn't really thought anything would come of it. Had never even once dared to hope that Levi would be willing to put up with him through other means than writing emails back and forth. And now he had added Eren to his contacts and -oh shit! He should probably accept the request, shouldn't he? Would Levi still be up, anyway? It wasn't _that_ late yet, right?

“I'm so fucked...” he muttered and clicked on 'accept' before he could think it over again.

After all, he had been the one asking, right? Levi's available-status popped up in green right then and Eren involuntarily held his breath, not sure what to expect now. Well, obviously his email had been read, but there were no other messages waiting for him to be read or to reply to. He let out his breath in a huff and decided not to do anything about it for now. He didn't want to bother Levi.

This plan, however, was completely undermined not a minute later by the man himself.

 

 **Levi:** Didn't think you would still be up.

 

Eren stared.

Hovered his fingers over the keyboard.

Stared some more and started typing, only to backspace everything and think again.

Fuck.

Why was he so nervous anyway? He had been fine before, right? Heck, he had even talked to Levi just two days ago and it had been completely natural, like he didn't have one awkward bone in his body! And now? Now he was fretting over it like the little fanboy he was.

“Fuck...” he murmured and hid his face in his hands.

This was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. Eren inhaled deeply, trying to calm his fraying nerves and his thoughts. Tried to find the state of mind he held when he played his music in front of an audience that wasn't the band or his family.

 

 **Jaegeren:** Well, yeah. It's not that late yet.

 

 **Levi:** I suppose. I was wondering, since I didn't hear from the band and you didn't mention anything either; how did you manage to deal with the reporters?

 

Eren groaned at the immediate answer and hung his head in defeat. Did he really have to type down all of what had happened since Saturday?

 

 **Jaegeren:** It went more or less well on Saturday. Sunday was quiet. Today was... something else.

 

 **Levi:** Something else? How so? Can you explain?

 

 **Jaegeren:** I'd really rather not. I'm exhausted. If I typed it all down now, it'd be a mess and I doubt you'd actually be able to understand even half of it.

 

 **Levi:** Well, you can always talk to me? What else is this shitty thing good for, anyway?

 

Eren's breath hitched. Did Levi just suggest what Eren thought he did? He reread the last message.

Yep.

He was 98% certain that he did. Still, he'd better make sure than just jump to conclusions on his own.

 

 **Jaegeren:** Is that your way of saying I should just call you, Levi?

 

 **Levi:** Obviously. So? You going to do it or are you chickening out?

 

Eren screamed internally and bit down on the base of his thumb to keep himself from grinning like a madman. -Not that it worked, though.

Levi wanted to talk to him!

Sure, just so he could tell him what happened today, but still. It was something, right? He hesitated for a second more, then he clicked the call button before he could think any better of it.

 

 

 

Levi didn't know how he was feeling about that email. Eren was -what Levi thought him to be- his usual self throughout all of it. Even the awkward, insecure question at the end seemed like something Eren would actually say. So why was he feeling so off? There was absolutely nothing wrong. All was fine, right? He even reread the email twice, just to be sure. After, he still felt like something was off, but he determined himself that it probably was because he was tired as fuck and not because something about Eren was different, since chances were there wasn't.

Levi yawned. He should really go to sleep soon. But then again, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, feeling too much like ants were crawling in his veins and his mind abuzz analysing Eren's email word for word.

Ultimately, he gave up on even trying and instead started up Skype. He didn't use this program that often, really. He only had it installed because Hanji had told him at one point that it might come in handy some time. Oh, how right she was! If she knew he'd actually thought that, he'd never hear the end of it; he mused and typed Eren's account name into the search bar.

He hadn't needed to think about it for long before he had made the decision to add the young man to his contacts, reasoning with himself that this way it would be easier for him to stay in contact with Eren after the copyright-ordeal was sorted out.

Lucky for him, there was only one possible account shown as a result for his search and it was unmistakably Eren's. The little round picture of a sheepishly smiling and slightly embarrassed Eren was a fool proof hint for him that _yes, this is indeed the kid's account you're going to add to your contacts, Levi._

“Now suck it up and do it.” he encouraged himself with a mumble, bit on his lower lip and let the mouse hover above the 'add to contacts' button.

Sucking in a deep breath -probably preparing himself for the worst- he clicked the button.

And waited.

And waited some more.

But nothing happened. No accepting the request, no instant messages sent. Nothing. He grumbled and looked at the time. 21:48, not that late.

“He's probably busy.” Levi reasoned with himself and was about to let it go, when the program dinged, informing him of a message. It wasn't from Eren, though.

It was from Hanji.

 

 **Shitty glasses:** Levi! Why are you using Skype? You're not talking to the band again, are you? Are you alright? I didn't hear anything at all from you since Saturday!

 

 **Levi:** I am fine. Stop assuming things, idiot.

 

 **Shitty glasses:** But Leviiii! You didn't answer my questions!

 

 **Levi:** That's because they're none of your business. But I guess I can tell you that Nile called again yesterday...

 

 **Shitty glasses:** WHAT?! Levi! Why didn't you tell me?! What did he want? What did he say? Leviii! You can't just keep something like that from me! I need to know about things like that!

 

Levi sighed, happy he had managed to steer her away from her previous prying for now. He was pretty sure that it would only last temporarily, but he'd take what little he could get. So he set out to writing down just what had happened during the call in a lengthy explanation. What Nile had said and what he threatened doing. How he had informed the police of the call anyway and their concerns about his well-being. To Hanji's credit, she waited to ask her questions until he was done telling her. Then the onslaught came and Levi tried to answer to his best capability, knowing that Hanji wouldn't accept anything less from him.

 

 **Shitty glasses:** You're right. This isn't like him, there must be a reason for why he's doing all this. And I'll be damned, if I won’t figure it out. Are you sure he didn't say anything else?

 

 **Levi:** Yes, absolutely. I told you everything. I've thought about it too, but I can't come up with anything that would explain his behaviour.

 

 **Shitty glasses:** Hmpf. We'll get to the reason for it eventually, though. I'm sure he'll call you again. He did say you were the reason he was doing all of this?

 

 **Levi:** Well, kind of. His exact words were 'It's nothing personal. At least not entirely.' there has to be someone else involved in this, too.

 

After that, Hanji had him go through everyone he knew and think about, if one of them could be holding a grudge against him. Sadly, that didn't bring them any further than they were before. Levi wasn't exactly a pleasant fellow to be around most of the time and one had to have a thick skin to be able to deal with him continually. Weak and soft people never lasted long in his closer proximity, mainly because they didn't know how to or didn't want to deal with him. Which was fine with Levi, really.

When Hanji finally wished him a good night, she really seemed to have forgotten her first question, too immersed in the dilemma concerning Nile. At least that's what Levi hoped it was. Though he wouldn't put it passed the woman to come back to that question at a later time where he would least expect it. It _had_ happened before.

He yawned and stretched, making his spine pop. Sitting for too long in the same hunched over position really wasn't doing anything good for his back, was it? With a satisfied sigh he leant back, relaxing for a moment.

While he had talked with Hanji about Nile, he had tried to ignore the still blue circle of Eren's skype contact, but now that there was nothing else to do again, he could no longer do that. Checking the time, he noticed that he had been talking to Hanji for over an hour, and he was genuinely surprised by that. It hadn't seemed that long to him, and deciding that maybe he should call it a night too, he moved the mouse to exit the program and shut down his laptop.

Just, he was stopped by the tiny blue circle of Eren's contact suddenly turning green. Huh. Levi stared at it for a few long seconds, wondering if maybe he was just seeing things because he had hoped it would happen when he saw it and if maybe Eren would even start a conversation with him right away, but it didn't seem to happen.

Levi decided to be the adult he was and do it himself, not willing to wait for things to happen, but to make them happen and started typing.

 

 

 

“Hello, Eren.” Levi's voice echoed through Eren's room and he quickly turned the volume down a little.

He didn't want to disturb Mikasa.

“Hello, Levi.” he took a deep breath, trying to calm his raging heartbeat back to a reasonable pace.

This really wasn't a good idea. He would surely make a fool out of himself. It was bound to happen at some point. He just knew it.

“So, what happened that you can't write it down?”

Eren held his breath and worried his lips. He didn't want to rant at Levi, but he knew it would happen eventually if he worked himself up -even if he tried to stay calm and just repeated the facts. Heck, even thinking about it had his blood boiling again!

“Hey, you still there?” Levi's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry?” Eren blinked owlishly at his laptop before he averted his eyes.

Because, even though Levi couldn't see him, he still felt nervous and as if he was under close observation.

“It's just... I don't know? It's just so much?” he offered hesitantly, trying to convey that he was thinking about how he could word the things on his mind.

“Well, start at the beginning, maybe?” Levi suggested and Eren sucked in another breath.

“Well…” he thought about it for another moment, “as I said, Saturday was more or less alright. They were annoying, but we eventually managed to get them to leave us alone after it was clear we wouldn't be answering any of their questions.”

He paused for a second or two, letting Levi progress what he said.

“Sunday was okay, too. There were only a few here who hoped they could get anything out of us.”

“You said as much already.” Levi informed him and Eren bit his lip.

So far, so good.

“Well, yes. I guess you're right.” he huffed and shuffled around in his bed, eyeing his laptop.

“This morning the reporters waited for all of us at our places. They were rude and didn't care about the fact that we had to go to our college courses. Some even followed us there, I think.” Eren finally started his tale of the day, “And at college, there were even more reporters waiting for us. Not to mention that most of the other students and professors eyed us like we might grow a few more heads at any given time and asked a fucking ton of questions, too. They must've seen the article you mentioned. And then, we were called to the Dean's office.”

Eren stopped there to let his words sink in. Levi didn't say anything though, and Eren figured he was probably waiting until he was finished with the whole story.

“Well, to make a long story short; he called us presumptuous and money-grubbing for accusing you of stealing our music and that we should've just ignored it and instead felt honoured you were using our stuff at all. He also said that we were suspended from college until this thing is over. Said he didn't want all those reporters around. Oh, and later he said our behaviour was bad for the college's reputation and could we please act like proper, responsible adults? Can you believe that shit? I swear to god, if I could, I would've- I don't know! Maybe bashed his face in or something, to make him realize the bullshit he's been spouting?” Eren huffed.

He had ended up ranting anyway, even though he had tried not to. Before Levi could say anything, however, Eren kept talking.

“He also threatened to talk to the reporters himself if we didn't do as he said, that fuck head! Isn't he supposed to support us? To aid us? Shouldn't he be trying to come up with a solution -not to make everything even worse?!”

“Okay, that's quite the day you had.” Levi agreed, calm and apparently not impressed with Eren's rant, “He really suspended all of you? Isn't that going to get his college a bad reputation?”

“Not if he twists the facts, which I'm sure he'll do.”

“Hm. So your studies will suffer because your shithead of a Dean doesn't bother to look out for his students?”

“That's basically it, yes. I mean, we got some friends who agreed to share their notes with us so we don't miss too much, but as long as we're suspended, we can't take any exams or hand in coursework with a due date unless the professor accepts it per email.”

“Sucks.”

“Yep.” Eren popped the p and sighed, ruffling his hair.

He was unsure about what to do or say now. He had told Levi what was on his mind, and he was happy the man had listened to him, but that still hadn't brought him a solution to the matter.

“Well, what do you guys plan to do now?”

“There's not really much we can do for now, is there? At least not until you had that press conference you mentioned.”

“Right... That's tomorrow afternoon. Let's hope we can set some things straight then.”

“We? You mean, you.”

“I'm sure Hanji will give her opinion on the matter too, regardless of if she's been asked or not. So yes, we.” Levi huffed.

Eren had to fight an amused little laugh.

“Okay. Are you going to tell us how it went?”

“Of course. Would be pretty shitty if I didn't, right?”

“I guess.”

Silence.

Eren fidgeted nervously on his bed. What now? Levi didn't say anything else and Eren wasn't sure if he should just wish his idol a good night or if he should try to keep the conversation going. Until just now, everything had been surprisingly fine, right?

 

 

 

Talking to Eren came just as easy to him as it had the first time. Though Eren was definitely the one doing most of the talking. It had needed a little poking and prodding on Levi's part, but then Eren spilled everything that bothered him in one long speech that slowly evolved into a full-blown rant in the end. Not that Levi minded. Listening to Eren speak was refreshing in a way he wasn't used to, but he was sure he could become used to it in no time at all if he wasn't careful. He bit down on his lip. No, Levi. Don't think about stuff like that. That's not going to end well for either of you, so stop it, he tried to warn himself.

When Eren was done ranting and it was clear that Levi was allowed to say something again, eh tried to determine just how bad it really was at the band's place. He found that he despised the Dean of Eren's college without even knowing the man. Just what little Eren had told him was more than enough to make him bristle at the thought of that man. So when their conversation lulled to a pause, he thought about the options the band had now.

“Are there any other colleges in your area that offer the same profiles you need? Couldn't you change colleges?” he thought out loud.

It was an idea and maybe it could be worth the shot. Eren, however, was silent for a long moment after Levi's suggestion and he almost feared he wouldn't even get an answer, but then Eren hummed. To Levi that indicated that Eren was thinking about it and not ignoring the idea, so he let him be and waited patiently.

“I don't know. Maybe some of us could...” he finally mumbled, still in thought, “I'd have to look it up, but I wouldn't bet on it.”

“That's alright. It was just an idea, anyway.” Levi shrugged and let his gaze wander over the interior of his living room, his grey irises stopping at the clock on the wall.

He sighed. 23:36, just about half an hour shy of midnight. He heard Eren yawn. It sounded like a yipping puppy. Adorable. He immediately scolded himself for thinking that.

“It's getting late. You should go to bed.” he suggested, earning himself a huff.

“Well, so should you, shouldn't you? I don't know for sure, but you probably have work to do tomorrow, whereas I can sleep for as long as I could possibly want to.”

The audacity! Levi narrowed his eyes at the screen since Eren wasn't really there and he couldn't see him. The boy was brave, he'd have to give him that, but that didn't mean Levi had to let him rub it in. He was quiet for a long moment before he allowed himself to sass right back at the daring young man.

It was late, he was tired and fuck it all, _he wanted to._ He wanted to see how Eren would react, if he would allow for them to fall into -hopefully- playful banter or if he would back off because he still thought Levi for too high and mighty to be allowed to be so casual with him.

“I am my own employer, so I don't need to worry about that. You, on the other hand, maybe you should be careful about what you say and how. I can still change my mind and decide that I let my lawyers handle this case not in all of ours best interest's, but mine alone. Do not forget that, brat.”

He didn't know what to expect, but when he heard Eren laugh, he couldn't help the slight pull on his own lips, forming a small smile on his own. No one could see it though, so he didn't bother hiding it.

“Oi, what's so funny?” he groused, trying to sound intimidating; like he had actually meant what he just said.

“Nothing! It's just- it's just-!” Eren tried to catch his breath, still giggling with every other word he spoke, “You wouldn't do that. You can try to deny it, but Levi, I know you won't do it. It wouldn't be like you.”

He had the feeling Eren had wanted to say even more, but had stopped himself then and there. Levi didn't push him for more, though. He just hummed his agreement.

“True. Still. You're tired, so am I. We should probably both go to bed.” he corrected his words from before.

“I guess you're right.” Eren sighed and Levi thought he could hear him huff.

“I am. Good night, Eren. I'll send an email to the band tomorrow after that blasted conference.”

“Thank you. Good night, Levi.”

Levi hummed at the soft-spoken words and ended the call.

He didn't fall asleep for the longest time that night, his mind replaying the conversation with Eren over again and again.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, I guess I lied to you about the skyping, didn't I? I'm sorry, but I couldn't just let that opportunity pass me by. I didn't want to spoil the surprise for anyone :3  
> I hope you liked it? 
> 
> Please leave a little feedback for me, people! I would love to hear your opinions! -They kick my butt into writing gear and keep me motivated, after all! :D I'm always up for a chat with you guys, be it here in the comment section or via ask on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/), either is fine with me, so don't be afraid to drop by sometime! :3 I won't bite you, promise! :D
> 
> Again, thanks to everyone who left kudos and comments since the last update, you guys are amazing! You make my day everytime I see a new comment x3
> 
> A big thank you again to wonderful [MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) for being my beta! ^0^


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh D:  
> This chapter is still unbeta'd, so please don't be surprised if you find any of the mistakes I sure as hell made. I'll try and get the betad version up as soon as I get it back from my beta, but until then, please bear with me!  
> Also, I'm really not too happy with this chapter, but I'm fed up with tweaking it around. It probably won't get any better at this point, so I'm leaving it as it is for now -_-'
> 
> Edit 02.09: The chapter is now beta'd. Thanks again to wonderful [MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) for being such a wonderful beta and putting up with me x3

He met Hanji at the entrance to the building where the conference would be held at, and secretly, he was glad for her support. Her exuberant nature made it easier for him to concentrate on her, not the reporters milling around the building, trying to get a few words from him before this whole charade started. And although her constant presence by his side had caused the rumour that they were secretly dating -or even married- to come up multiple times, Levi wouldn't want to miss her. Having her by his side was somewhat reassuring. And besides, she would watch out for him, so that he wouldn't go overboard with the things he said.

“So, what's going to happen today? What's the memo?” she inquired, guiding him through the building.

“The usual? Sit and answer their stupid questions.”

“Just that? You're not making an announcement or something?”

“I am. You'll see.”

“Oh come on! You can tell me!”

“If I tell you, you will spill it before I get the chance. Not happening.”

Hanji pouted and crossed her arms defensively.

“Not fair, Rivaille! I'm your best friend, remember?”

“Says you.”

Hanji eyed him through her glasses.

“Are you going to address the matter with Nile?” she then wanted to know.

“Nope. It'd be unfair to the band to have them learn about that from the media, not me.”

Besides, he had promised to tell Eren himself. And he intended to keep that promise.

“That's true. Did you think of anything that might have caused this fall out, though?”

“Still nothing.” Levi shrugged.

He knew it would come to him eventually. No use in trying to force it. That way, it probably wouldn't work at all.

“Hm. Well, I guess we'll have to wait for results from the police, then.” Hanji sighed and openedthe door that led into the conference room.

On the short end stood a table, prepared with two glasses of water and two chairs -that's were Hanji and he would be sitting. The rest of the room was filled with rows and rows of chairs. Most of them were already occupied, but some were still empty. The room wasn't that big, maybe enough to fit up to 40 - 50 people comfortably, Levi guessed. There were no windows and the light was too white, but he couldn't complain.

He and Hanji sat down at the table, while the reporters eyed them curiously. Most of them knew not to ask questions before Levi said it was okay to begin. They waited for another ten minutes or so, until all chairs were occupied.

“Alright. I guess everyone's here now, which means we can begin. -And please, _one_ question at a time and _no shouting_.” Levi ordered.

Instantly, all of the reporters raised their hands to the air, wanting to be the first one to have their question answered.

“Yes? You, in the grey blouse.” Levi picked someone at random by pointing at them.

“Mr. Rivaille, is it true that you stole a song on your recently published album from an unknown college band?”

“There is indeed a song on that album that appears to be very similar to one of said band's songs. However, I did not steal it from them knowingly. We are still trying to find out how this happened.” Levi replied calmly and then pointed to another person, indicating that this would be all he would say on the matter.

“Rivaille, I've talked to the band and they said they were going to sue you for thievery!”

Levi was glad that he had such good control over his facial muscles, so he didn't grimace at that nonsense.

“That is a lie. I've been in contact with the band since I was first informed of the supposed theft, and they agreed with me not to involve the law. We're trying to find a solution that makes all involved parties happy and we're working together on this.” he informed the man.

After that, a few hands immediately sunk -those people must have wanted to ask similar nonsensical questions. It went back and forth like this a few times, Levi and Hanji answering the reporter's questions to the best of their knowledge. One question, however, threw them for a loop.

“Are the rumours about you and your manager true?”

Levi narrowed his eyes at the woman who had asked that question.

“What rumours? Please elaborate.” he made an effort not to grit his teeth.

How did that woman know about this?

“The rumour that you and Mr. Dawk had a fight before the publication of the album and that he no longer is your manager, of course!”

Levi was instantly reassured that the woman didn't know what was really going on.

“I don't know where you might have heard such nonsense. However, it is true that Mr. Dawk wishes to stop working for me. I can assure you though that there was no argument that caused this decision.” he informed the woman.

All of the reporters were eagerly scribbling down in their notepads, so apparently there had been more than just her wanting to know this.

When it became obvious that most of their questions had been answered and the conference was about to dissolve, Levi cleared his throat to get all of the reporter's attention once more.

“I'd like to say one more thing to all of you. I have said earlier that I'm in close contact with 'Titans' about the matter and I would appreciate it, if you would stop ruining their lives with your presence. They have confided in me that some of you came in the way of their education, which is unacceptable. These are young people and they deserve the chance to finish their schooling uninterrupted by your hunger for a cover-story.”

The reporters threw an uproar and a ton of more questions at him the moment he had closed his mouth. Levi raised a brow at their antics and waited for two seconds. When the questions just kept coming, he sighed and held up his hands in a pacifying manner to get the control over the conversation back.

“I said, _one question_ at a time!” he reminded them and didn't say anything else until the room had quieted down again.

He knew his words would cause a reaction like this so he had been prepared for it. Hanji looked offended, though probably not so much at him but the reporters. She hadn't said so much, so Levi kind of only was guessing at this point, but he was fairly certain Hanji was miffed that those people dared to endanger the education of students without a care in the world. They needed their studies to get somewhere in live, after all.

“How did we get in the way of their education, pray tell? We merely wanted to ask them a few harmless questions!” One reporter spoke up.

Levi narrowed his eyes at the man.

“Oh, I don't know, by trying to keep them from arriving to their courses on time and following them to their campus, maybe?” he offered, obviously not happy to have to point that out to the man.

Hanji made an unhappy sound, something between the beginning of a word and distressed moaning -probably. She wanted to say something, but kept her mouth shut after a warning glance from Levi. He could only guess that she was holding back a flood of curses. The reporter, however, looked unimpressed, to say the least.

“Well, if they had answered our questions, we wouldn't have had to do that!” he reasoned, clearly not seeing how wrong he was with that.

Levi bit on the inside of his cheek to keep himself from cursing the man to the moon and back.

“Anyone else who thinks like that?” he asked instead, eyeing each and every one of the reporters closely, daring them to agree to the man's words.

There were hushed murmurs and shaking heads, so he supposed his message got through to them and they would -hopefully- leave the band alone from now on. And maybe they would even be allowed back to their college, too. If not, Levi could always send Hanji to deal with their Dean. He was sure she'd be glad to, once she knew about the whole story. Though that meant he would have to tell her about Eren...

 

  

 

Eren buried his head in his pillow, groaning. Now he'd done it. He'd gone and talked to Levi. Again. And they had talked for -what? Only ten minutes, maybe? And still Eren felt like it had been much longer than that. Time flew when he talked to the older man, and he had enjoyed every second of it, even though he'd been ranting for the majority of the time.

He sighed and replayed the conversation in his mind. He compared Levi to Rivaille and couldn't help but notice the differences in personality. Though that was probably phrasing it wrong. They were one and the same person after all. Only Levi seemed to be much more open and relaxed than the person he became once he was out in public. Rivaille was very court with everyone and didn't allow any shenanigans, he was always so sombre and almost cold and unapproachable. Whereas Levi was a lot more talkative -from what Eren could tell so far- though he had quite the potty mouth on him and his plain honesty verged on rudeness most of the time. However, for Eren these were traits that made his idol more human to him than anything else. It showed the man too had faults and flaws, just like any other human being.

With another groan, Eren rolled on his back and snapped his laptop shut. He really should go to sleep soon, even if he didn't have to get up early tomorrow.

 

“You think the conference might be over by now?” Eren probably asked Mikasa for the hundredths time that afternoon.

“Oh, I don't know, Eren. That didn't change since the last ten million times you asked already.” Mikasa huffed and averted her eyes from the essay she was working on to look at him exasperatedly.

Just because they were temporarily suspended from their college didn't mean they'd be slacking off now.

“Sorry. I know. It's just -”

“I know. I feel the same, idiot. But worrying won't change anything now. All we can do is wait.”

“I know.” Eren sighed and ruffled his hair.

That was what was eating at him, though. The waiting. The not-knowing. The feeling of being absolutely unable to do anything. There were still reporters downstairs, waiting for them to set a foot outside.

How could he not worry about these things? They were barely adults and none of them had any experience in dealing with this kind of stuff.

“Why don't you take a break for now? You won't get anything done the way you are right now anyway.” Mikasa suggested.

“Yeah...” he mumbled.

She was right, though. He had been staring at a blank document for the entire time they were supposed to be working on their assignments. Anything that he did manage to write he'd had deleted again because he wasn't satisfied with it at all. It was a little frustrating, but there was nothing he could do about it for now. Not until they had received that email from Rivaille, anyway. Eren made a pitiful sound, closed the empty document and wandered over to the kitchen. Maybe making something to eat would take his mind off of things for a little while.

“Do you want anything to eat, Mikasa?” he called over to his sister.

“Only if you're gonna make those muffins mum always made!”

Despite everything, Eren smiled at that.

“Got it!” he agreed and set to work.

Half an hour later, the first batch of muffins was done and when he had prepared the next one, he carried the still warm ones over to the living room.

“Not sure if they're as good as usually, but here you go.” he placed them on the table, next to Mikasa.

“Thank you, Eren.” she smiled and reached for the treats.

“Hmm.” she hummed after taking the first bite, “They're good, Eren.”

Eren looked hesitant, though he knew Mikasa wouldn't lie to him about something like that, and then he reached for a muffin on his own, trusting her words.

“The rest should be done in 15 minutes.” he informed her and settled down in front of his laptop again.

He was not about to try and get started on that essay again, but he would check the band's email account again.

“Nothing...” he mumbled glumly.

“Well, what did you expect? It's only 4.30 now, so even if the conference ended already, who knows how far away from his place it was held and how long he'll need to get back home from there?” Mikasa chided him with a huff, “He'll send that email as soon as he has the chance, Eren.”

He slumped down, his forehead pressed against the table's surface.

“That doesn't make it any better, though!” he grumbled and glared weakly at her through his bangs.

“It wasn't supposed to. Now, are you going to finish that muffin or can I have it?” she reached for the treat without waiting for his response.

“Hey!” Eren quickly snatched away his muffin and brought it out of her reach, “Since when did you become a second Sasha?”

“Since these are muffins made after mum's recipe.” she dead panned and then took another one from the tray, seeing as Eren's was off limits.

“Oh?” Eren looked a little confused for a moment but then decided to just let it go.

He still thought his muffins lacked something his mother's had always had, but he couldn't figure out what it was that he did wrong. Oh well. One of these days he'd get it right eventually, right?

 

 

 

“So you're saying these cute little honey-buns got suspended from their college because of this?!”

After the conference, Hanji had insisted she'd accompany Levi home, and quite frankly, he was glad she did. It took his mind off of those idiots of reporters.

They had, once he'd told them about how they threatened to ruin the band's education, not seen any reason at all. Sure, they said they'd lay off on them, but he didn't believe them for a second. They would find other means to get information about them, he was sure.

“At least that's what they told me, yes.” he confirmed, carefully avoiding the fact that it had been Eren and not the whole band he'd been talking to.

“That's awful! Who does something like that?!”

“Their Dean, apparently.”

“What?! Someone ought to slap some sense into that man!”

Levi nodded. That was exactly what he had been thinking all along since Eren had told him about it, but he had no way of doing that without further straining his reputation. Not that he really cared that much, but if he wanted to find a new manager, he probably shouldn't do anything too reckless.

“This is unbelievable!” Hanji talked herself into a fit, her agitated gestures and self-going every which way.

She was pacing around in his living room, every now and then stopping to look at Levi to get confirmation for one of her exclamations.

“It is. But there's nothing we can do. We have to let the band deal with that on their own. As much as I want to help them, this is their personal matter, not mine.”

Hanji glared at him.

“Sure, it's caused through me, or better, the theft, but that wasn't my fault. At least not entirely. If I meddled with their Dean, who's to say that that dunderhead doesn't expel them completely?”

Hanji pouted, seeing his reason.

“Right. Still. There's got to be something we could do!”

“I don't think so.” he sighed and walked over to the couch to sit down.

Until now he had been leaning in the doorway and watched her pace, but now that she had calmed down a little, he found he could ease up, too.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“And if we ask them? Offer our help?”

“I don't know. We're meddling enough already, aren't we?”

“You think so? But we hardly did anything!”

“Ah, I told the reporters to lay off and that they already got in the way of their education. That's bound to show up in the papers, Hanji.”

The woman ruffled her already messy hair.

“But still! There's no harm in asking, is there?”

Levi huffed and crossed his arms, looking thoughtful.

“I don't know if we should.”

He weighed their options; it couldn't end too badly if they offered, but he didn't want to impose on them any more than he already had. And the rumours that would give birth to! He could already see the headlines: _**World famous violinist takes unknown band under his wings! - Rivaille, playing favourites?**_ and stuff like that was bound to spout sooner or later. Not to think of what would happen, if anyone learned of his -hopefully only temporary- infatuation with Eren! The media would have a field day with that, and Eren didn't deserve that. Nobody did, really, but Levi couldn't care less about anyone else.

He groaned. He really shouldn't be thinking about stuff like that.

“Well, we've got to do something! And if you don't do it, I will!”

“Hanji. We're not them. Nor their parents. Let them deal with the Dean.”

“Fine! But if that doesn't work, I _will_ tell that man what we think of him and his methods!”

Levi gave a subtle smile.

“That, I can accept.” he agreed.

“Great!” Hanji cheered and jumped on the couch next to him to give him one of her feared bear-hugs.

Levi had no chance of escaping this time around, so he obediently let it happen. Better not to struggle, or else she'd probably strangle him accidentally.

“Okay, okay, calm down, for fuck’s sake!” he huffed eventually and patted her shoulder to signal her that she should let go of him now.

She did, albeit reluctantly.

“Fine, fine.” she pouted and leant back on the couch.

“Good. Now, I need to tell them what happened at the conference.” Levi remembered his promise to Eren and got up to get his laptop.

Hanji looked at him, questions clear in her eyes, but he didn't elaborate for her. She'd come to the conclusion on her own soon enough anyway. He set up his laptop on the dining table and set to work. Hanji was hovering, but he didn't mind. He didn't have anything to hide. At least, not at the moment. He hadn't started up Skype, and even Hanji wasn't so rude as to snoop through his private emails. So his conversations with Eren should be safe for now.

The email was written quickly enough, though Hanji had to point out a few things he forgot or didn't explain well enough in her opinion. Levi acquiesced, knowing it would be best to let her have her way with that. One of the few plus points of being forced to be around her so much was knowing when to let her do whatever she pleased and when to stop her -mainly when she threatened the safety of others and herself or other people's privacy.

“Okay, that should cover everything. You can send it now.” she ordered finally, and he didn't hesitate to do so immediately, lest she'd get any more ideas to hold him up any longer.

 

  

 

Eren had taken a nap after he had finished baking, heeding Mikasa's words that time might pass faster that way. And though he wasn't fond of the idea of missing the moment the email arrived, he saw her point. He'd just had made her mad with his pacing and overall jitteriness. Though she had to promise to wake him the second that email arrived. She didn't, though. Or the email still hadn't arrived. And it was already past dinnertime, he deduced with a glance to the digital numbers of his alarm clock.

He groaned and got up, looking for his sister. He found her in the living room, curled up under a blanket on the couch and snoozing softly.

“What the hell, Mikasa...” he muttered groggily and quietly began to pick up the empty muffin paper-cups strewn all around her.

No wonder she hadn't woken him when she was deep asleep herself. Once he was done with that, he looked her over, deciding to let her sleep. She looked to be comfortable enough. Then he picked up his laptop which he had left with her earlier, switched off the light and went back to his room.

It didn't take long to refresh the site to the band's email account and check through the mass of messages for the one he was looking for. He found it, too. Sent shortly after he'd gone and took his nap. Great. He grumbled something unintelligible and searched for his phone, before he went and read that email.

He opened the band's group chat and shot a text at them, informing them about the new email so they could all read it once they had the time. Only then he turned back to his laptop and opened the email. On the one side he was eager to see what had happened to Levi at the conference, on the other he dreaded knowing what those reporters might have said about him and the band. However, his curiosity got the best of him and he started reading.

 

_Message from L. Ackermann_

_Hello Titans!_

_I'm writing you regarding the press conference held earlier today. All things considered, I guess you could say it went fairly well. Though some things could have gone better, I think we got the best outcome we could hope for in this situation. Those people asked a lot of inappropriate questions about all of you, and though I tried to shoot them down for it, I doubt they'll listen to me. Most of them probably will, but some won't back down so easily. I told them to leave you alone unless you contacted them and are willing to talk about things on your own terms, but sadly those people are nosy as fuck and I doubt you'll have much luck of that happening. Some of them also spouted quite a lot of nonsense about what happened on the weekend and I'm sure that even though I told them those things weren't true, some of this bullshit will find its way into the papers and other kind of media._

_Please try not to react to any of it, as long as it's not directly harmful to you or the people close to you. If that happens, you can tell me and I'll give you the contacts of one of my lawyers so they can help you out. If there's anything else you wish to know or want help with, feel free to just ask. As long as you're not being completely unreasonable, I'm sure I'd be willing to help you out._

_Best regards,_

_L. Ackermann_

 

Eren sighed. That email was fairly impersonal, just like all the other ones Levi had sent to the band. He decided he liked the man better when he wrote their private emails. Speaking of; he had yet to receive an answer to the last one he had sent to the older man, hadn't he? Eren cocked his head to the side, thinking about it, and then checked his personal email account. Only to come up empty handed. He sighed.

“Two emails in one day would've been too good to be true, huh?” he mumbled and slumped in his chair.

He stayed like that for a while, until his phone buzzed, informing him of a new message.

 

 **Armin:** I just read it! Are you guys free? We should do a Skype call to talk about this!

 

Eren smiled wryly. Armin had written into the group chat, just as he had earlier. It didn't take long for him to type out a reply and sent it on its way. Then he turned back to his laptop and logged into Skype. His eyes scanned automatically for the names of his friends, but he stopped at another person's name and the green 'available'-symbol in front of it. He swallowed and then forced himself to move on. He didn't have time to bother with his idol now.

The band always had -and always would- come first.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a little feedback for me, people! I would love to hear your opinions! -They kick my butt into writing gear and keep me motivated, after all! :D I'm always up for a chat with you guys, be it here in the comment section or via ask on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/), either is fine with me, so don't be afraid to drop by sometime! :3 I won't bite you, promise! :D
> 
> And again, thanks to everyone who left kudos and comments since the last update, you guys are amazing! You make my day everytime I see a new comment x3 Lots of love and kisses to all of you! :*


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is antother unbeta'd chapter, so please don't be surprised if you find any of the mistakes I sure as hell made. I'll try and get the betad version up as soon as I get it back from my beta, but until then, please bear with me ^^"  
> I want to try and keep up somewhat of a consistency with my updates on the weekends, so the chapters will be out once I finish them and updated to the beta'd version later on during the week. If you don't like mistakes or are bothered by them, I suggest you check back here in a few days ;)
> 
> Edit 07.09: Now the beta'd version! A big thank you again to wonderful [MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) for being my beta! ^0^

Armin logged into Skype not a minute later and Eren immediately opened the chat window, typing down the question that was on his mind.

 

 **Jaegeren:** So, you think we're going to have to deal with even more shit now?

 

 **Coconut:** I'm not sure. He said he told them to stay away from us. I hope those people will listen to that.

 

 **Jaegeren:** Let's hope so. Maybe we should keep an eye on the papers, too?

 

 **Coconut:** That would probably be for the best, wouldn't it? He did say some of the lies might make it in there. And I'd rather see them for myself than having to hear about them through a third party.

 

 **Jaegeren:** Yeah. Did you find anything about the Dean, though? You said you wanted to look into things to see, if he was even allowed to suspend us for the reason he gave.

 

 **Coconut:** I have. However, I didn't find anything. There's nothing like our case ever happened before, apparently. So there's nothing we could name as an example.

 

 **Jaegeren:** Shit.

 

 **Coconut:** Yep. By the way, did Mikasa read the email already? Is she here with you?

 

 **Jaegeren:** No, she's asleep. I didn't dare wake her. You know how she gets.

 

 **Coconut:** Oh. You might want to reconsider that, though. Think about how she'll react when she finds out you _didn't_ tell her.

 

 **Jaegeren:** Oh shit, you're right! Brb!

 

Eren stumbled into the living room, making a ruckus in his haste. Hopefully Mikasa would believe him when he said he had just seen the email himself -which he technically had; it had only been a few minutes, after all. He sucked in a deep breath and tried to compose himself before he went to stand in front of the couch and shook his sister awake carefully. He didn't want to shock her awake.

“Hey, Mika. Wake up! The email came! You should see it!” he tried to get her back to the world of the living.

It worked, too. Though she grumbled and grunted unintelligible for a moment and glared at him in a clearly disgruntled manner.

“The email, Kasa.” he repeated as a way of explanation and retreated then to let her wake and rise in her own time.

It wouldn't take her long, he was sure. In that time, he went back to his room and to his chat with Armin. He quickly informed him that Mikasa was awake now and would join them soon, then switched to the band's shared chat where several new messages were waiting for him. Apparently Marco had read the email too and was now waiting for the others to arrive. Just when Eren was about to write a reply, another orange notification popped up -behind Levi's name! Eren furrowed his brows. As much as he would have liked to see what the man wanted, the band was more important. Listening for signs of Mikasa coming to his room -there weren't any yet- and biting at his bottom lip, he switched conversations again, quickly wrote “Sorry, busy. Later?” and sent it on his way without even checking what Levi had wanted in the first place. Then he switched back to the band's chat.

Armin had replied to Marco and apparently Jean was with him, so everyone but Annie was present now. Mikasa came into the room then, still looking decidedly groggy and unhappy about being woken from her nap, but slightly more approachable.

“Email?” she asked and eyed Eren questioningly.

Eren, knowing his sister wasn't able to function properly yet, patted his lap as a sign for her to sit down and that he would show it to her. She blinked owlishly, before her sleep-addled brain processed what he was offering and strode over to him. Situating her in his lap was pretty easy and only seconds later he was reaching around her to navigate his laptop and switch to the received email. He was happy he hadn't closed the tab earlier.

While Mikasa read, he rested his head on her shoulder, his eyes scanning the words again, too. Though it was more of a quick read over than concentrated reading. He already knew what was being said after all.

“Hmm.” Mikasa hummed, a sign that she had finished reading and was a lot more awake and alert now.

“The others know?” she wanted to know then, when Eren only offered a sound of acknowledgement to her humming.

“Yeah. I shot them a text when I saw it. Marco, Armin and Jean read it already.” he said and changed the window back to the chat window to let Mikasa read what Armin and Marco had been talking about.

When she had, he informed them that Mikasa and he were back and had both read the email. They figured that with everyone but one present, it would be okay to start a call. Annie would join them sooner or later, they figured.

 

  

 

Unsurprisingly, Hanji stayed for dinner that day, her reason being the same one as last time -she wanted to wait for an answer from the band. Levi had argued there probably wouldn't be one that soon, just like before, but Hanji would hear none of it. In the end, he gave up reasoning with her. It was futile.

“Fine. Stay for all I care!” he groused, throwing his hands up in annoyance -a clear sign that he'd had enough.

Hanji cheered, but Levi scowled at her.

“I don't care what you do, but don't disturb me. I'm going to practice.” he informed her, not paying attention to her elated blabbering and turning to move to his studio, where he stored all his instruments.

It took him only a moment of contemplation, before he picked up his concert violin ([x](http://media.cybervida.com.br/0812/01/hario-4.jpg)), a delicate instrument made of glass. Initially it had not been meant to be played, merely being a piece of art to show off, but Hanji had worked her magic on it and now it was Levi's most prized possession. He started with simple scales to get his fingers warmed up and stretched and to see if he needed to tune the instrument, but it was still fine. He hummed contently and after a few minutes of that went to play simpler songs and melodies. Then came the old classics, Mozart and Bach, preferably, and then he went on to his own pieces ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF6PBLJNkME&list=PLZOZtSJleYuSq1gzISEHhfZ2tK3ag8gS0&index=5)).

He lost himself in his music and let his mind wander -until Hanji's gleeful squeal pulled him back to present. A sound like that could only mean one thing: the band had answered his email. Levi inhaled deeply, steeling himself for Hanji storming into his studio and chattering to him endlessly, but it never came. In fact, it was way too quiet now. His perpetual frown deepened. What was going on? Carefully he put his violin back in its case and went to check on the woman. Only to stop dead in his tracks when he heard her talking to someone. Someone, whose voice he thought he knew quite well by now.

“What the hell?!” he muttered under his breath but had the presence of mind not to storm into his living room.

No, in a bout of curiosity, he stopped outside, next to the door and out of sight to listen to the conversation. Sure, eavesdropping wasn't exactly a polite thing to do, but that woman had dug her own grave, right?

“This is wonderful! I never thought I'd see the day my little grumpy-butt would socialize out of his own! Tell me how you did it! Tell me your secret!” Hanji just now urged and Levi could only roll his eyes in annoyance at her words.

“ _Huh? You think so? He seems fine to me.”_ the other person said.

“No! Nonononono! You don't understand! He _never_ socializes, if he doesn't have to! I have to force him out of his house most of the time!”

Levi was about to give her a piece of his mind for that blatant lie, but was stopped by the other person's words.

“ _Oh? I really didn't get that impression at all. Maybe he is just being picky?”_

Levi had to suppress a chuckle at that. No, he wasn't picky. He just didn't see it necessary to spend time with people he didn't like and who didn't like him in turn. It was a waste of time.

“Picky, you say? I haven't thought of that yet! Maybe you're right... Though it still wouldn't explain why you're in his contacts.”

“ _That's because I asked him? I already told you!”_

“And he agreed to that? Just like that?”

“ _Yes, just like that, I believe.”_

“Strange. That isn't like him at all.” Hanji hummed, thinking.

“ _It's not?”_

“No, it's not. But why I did it is none of her business whatsoever.” Levi then spoke up, having heard enough.

“LEVI!” Hanji screeched, shocked about his sudden appearance, “Oh my god, don't scare me like that! Think of my poor heart! What would've you done had I had a heart attack just now?”

“I would've let you die, obviously.” Levi dead panned and sat down next to her on the couch.

“No, you wouldn't” Hanji pouted.

“Try me, then.” he shot her an evil grin, though the corners of his eyes crinkled with amusement.

“It would certainly spare me a lot of trouble if I did.” he clarified and then turned to his laptop.

The call Hanji had started was still running, though the person on the other end hadn't said a word since Levi came into the room and interrupted their conversation.

“Oi, Eren. Don't get shy now. And don't believe everything Hanji has told you, either.”

There was something akin to a squeak coming from Eren, before he managed to actually speak up. Levi thought that Eren probably still had him up on that pedestal of his.

“ _Oh, sorry! No, I won't!”_ Eren scrambled to point out with a huff once he had recomposed himself.

“Good. How did you get into my account anyway, shitty glasses? I'm fairly sure I didn't leave it logged in.”

Hanji cackled at that.

“Oh, Levi dear. You're so naïve. Did you really think I couldn't guess your password? Really? Your birthday? You couldn't have made it any easier, honestly.”

Levi glared at her.

“Why am I still friends with you again?” he wonders out loud with an exasperated sigh.

He really should have figured something like this would happen. After all, this was Hanji they were talking about.

“Because you love me?” the woman offered with a wide smile and expertly avoiding acknowledging Levi's displeasure.

“Don't I know it?” he sighed then and leant back on the couch.

The damage had already been done, there was nothing he could do about it now. He could, however, change his password first thing once Hanji was gone. Not that he would tell her, though. Let her think it would be still the same next time she wanted to snoop around.

“Did you find what you were looking for, though?” he huffed.

Hanji cackled again.

“Oh, I don't know; have I, Eren?”

“ _Oh? Uh-uhm... I don't know?”_   Eren was obviously caught off guard by being addressed by Hanji right then.

To Levi it was obvious though that the woman was messing with both of them.

“Just ignore her, Eren. There's nothing good to come of it, if you don't.” Levi frowned at his friend and earned himself a pout.

“That's so not true!” she objected, “Eren! Don't you dare believe him! He's just jealous I-” Hanji stopped there and Levi could practically see the gears turning in her head.

Eren however, couldn't see anything and asked confused questions.

“ _Hanji? What's wrong? Why did you stop talking? Did something happen?”_   he nattered, trying in vain to get an answer from her.

Though she definitely had heard him.

By the time Hanji finally opened her mouth to speak again, Levi had already covered his ears with his hands as a precaution for the outburst that was bound to come.

 

  

 

“ _So, what do you guys think?”_   Armin prompted them.

“ _I think it was nice of him to try to ward off those reporters.”_   Marco chimed.

“ _Yeah, yeah. I doubt it will work, though.”_   Jean argued.

“ _We'll just have to see about that, don't we?”_   Marco reprimanded him, _“I really don't think he's that bad a person. He seems to be genuinely sorry about all this.”_

Jean huffed, obviously not believing that.

“Well, he's also really blunt.” Mikasa threw in.

“That only means he's telling the truth, though. Not sugar-coated lies.” Eren pointed out with a huff.

He didn't know why he felt like he had to defend Levi, but he did. And he always did what felt right to him.

“Just because he is direct and kind of rude doesn't mean he doesn't care.” he huffed.

“ _Figures you'd go and defend him.”_   Jean grumbled and then hissed.

Eren figured Marco had elbowed him in the ribs or something to shut him up.

“And what of it? What do you care?” Eren groused, trying not to let his temper flare up.

“ _Ow -Marco!”_

There was shuffling and shoving to be heard and finally Armin spoke up again.

“ _Guys! Fighting won't get us anywhere!”_   he spoke with a raised voice, something he didn't do often and therefore got all of their attention immediately.

“ _Ugh, fine.”_ Jean huffed.

“ _Good. Now then. I for one would have liked to know what nonsense he was talking about that the reporters were apparently spouting.”_   Armin cut back to the main reason for their group call.

Eren and Mikasa nodded along to that, though none of the others could see it.

“ _Maybe we should ask him? He_ _ **did**_ _say we should ask him if there was anything else we wanted to know.”_   Marco suggested.

“ _Yeah, maybe we should.”_ Armin agreed, sounding thoughtful.

“We also still need to actually answer his first email.” Eren reminded them.

That earned him a collective sigh from all of the others, and Mikasa, who still sat on his lap, leant back against him.

“Don't remind me.” she mumbled quietly and Eren huffed, patting her head.

“It'll be fine. He really isn't that bad.” he mumbled back just as quietly, not willing to share his secret contact with Levi with anyone but his sister just yet.

He'd have to tell them eventually, he knew, but for now he liked it this way. Mikasa simply hummed in acknowledgement.

“Armin, can you do that? Writing him an answer?” Eren asked his blond friend.

“ _Sure. Which email, though? The first or this one?”_

“This one. Though you should probably let him know we're still thinking about his offer.”

“ _Okay, sure. Should I ask anything else besides what those reporters were on about?”_

“Nothing I can think of tight now. Do you guys have anything?”

Mikasa shook her head and he heard Marco and Jean mumble a decline.

“ _Good. I'll get right to it, then, and post it here once I'm done so everyone can see it.”_ Armin said and then disconnected from the call to concentrate on his task.

Mikasa yawned.

“Go to bed. You can read what Armin wrote tomorrow.” Eren told her and she huffed -it wasn't that late yet!

Marco, who'd heard Eren, had to agree.

“ _I think we should get going, too. Jean still needs to get home, too.”_

“ _Yeah well, it's not like I didn't stay over before, right?”_ said boy objected.

“ _That's true. I doubt you'd want to meet my flatmates tomorrow morning, though.”_ Marco reasoned.

“ _No!”_

They could practically feel the cringe in that word. Jean really didn't like those two girls. Or well, one of them; she always riled him up -just like Eren.

“ _I should get going, you're right.” he agreed then, “Alright guys, I'll be going!”_

Jean said good bye to them then and Marco disconnected from the call too.

That left the siblings alone and Mikasa yawned again.

“Seriously, sis, you need to go to bed.” Eren chided her.

Mikasa made herself purposefully heavy then and slumped against him.

“Carry me?” she asked and Eren pouted at the look she was giving him.

“You're lucky you are my sister, you know that?” he mused and adjusted her in his lap so that she sat sideways and he could pick her up in a princess-carry.

“I know.” she gave a small smile, slung her arms around his neck and then let herself be carried to her room, where Eren placed her on her bed.

“Do I need to tuck you in, too, you big baby? Or can you do that by yourself already?” he chuckled.

“I think I can manage.” she yawned again.

Eren nodded and left her then.

“Good night.” he wished her before he closed the door after himself.

Back in his room he settled back in front of his laptop to check what Levi had wanted earlier. He frowned at the message.

“ _Who are you?_ -?” he muttered, reading the line out loud and not sure what to think of it.

Well, it was obvious that whoever sent it couldn't have been Levi. But who else could it be? Who would be allowed to use the man's account? -Would he even let anyone use it willingly? Eren had no idea, but he was fairly certain Levi wouldn't let anyone near his private stuff if they weren't close.

 

 **Jaegeren:** I could ask you the same. You're obviously not Levi.

 

 **Levi:** Eeeeh?! HOW DID YOU KNOW?!

 

 **Jaegeren:** No offence, but it's pretty obvious with the way you're writing.

 

 **Levi:** Oh, right. I guess that's true. I'm Hanji! WHO ARE YOU?

 

 **Jaegeren:** I'm Eren.

 

 **Levi:** I knew that! Who are you, Eren?

 

 **Jaegeren:** What do you mean, who am I? I'm me, of course?

 

Eren thought he'd get another confusing answer to that, but instead he got a call from whoever it was that was using Levi's account. Warily he eyed the 'accept call' button, but then decided to just go with it. What could go wrong anyway? He could always just cancel the call when it got too weird, right?

“Uhm -hello?” he asked hesitantly as soon as the call connected.

“ _Ooh! I didn't think you would accept! This is wonderful! Now, Eren! Do you mind telling me about yourself?”_ the woman named Hanji practically assaulted him with a flood of words.

However, he didn't know her and therefore was not very willing to share too many details about himself.

“Ah, what do you want to know?”

And the woman immediately launched herself into a frenzy of questions. Some he answered, some he didn't -some of her questions where just plain weird and really none of her business. The questions she had in regard of Levi, he tried to answer, though there really wasn't much he could say.

And then Levi interrupted their little chat and Eren was stunned to contemporary silence as he listened to the two's conversation.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to everyone who left kudos and comments since the last update, you guys are amazing! You make my day everytime I see a new comment x3 Lots of love and kisses to all of you! :*
> 
> Please leave a little feedback for me, people! I would love to hear your opinions! -They kick my butt into writing gear and keep me motivated, after all! :D I'm always up for a chat with you guys, be it here in the comment section or via ask on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/), either is fine with me, so don't be afraid to drop by sometime! :3 I won't bite you, promise! :D
> 
> I know I say this every time I update, but it's just so true! You guys are all wonderful cute little honey buns and I love each and every one of you to death! ^0^
> 
> On another note: What did you think of the Eremika-sibling fluff? Okay/enjoyable or too much -never again? It just kind of happened while writing and I think it's cute to actually see them interact as siblings that actually and genuinely care for each other and are really close. I don't like Mikasa as the overbearing mother-hen sister most people like to picture her as QAQ That's not her -not even in canon, people! êe


	13. Chapter 13

 “LEVI! HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME YOU WERE TALKING TO THAT EREN?! He's the reason you asked me, if I remembered someone by his name, right? He's the little boy from back then! Aren't you, Eren?! You are! You are that little boy that got lost after a concert, right?” Hanji finally connected the dots, “And you're also the violinist of 'Titans', and the guy over whose music Levi has been obsessing with lately, am I right? I AM RIGHT, RIGHT?”

Neither Eren nor Levi were able to get a word in edgewise while the woman was talking a mile a minute, and only after she was done, Levi lowered his hands from his ears again.

“And what if he is? It doesn't change anything.” Levi huffed, seeing no point in denying her the truth of her conclusions.

“Oh, but Levi! It changes everything! Don't you see? This has to be fate! It's such a great opportunity! Why else would you two meet again after so many years? This has to mean something!” Hanji downright cheered, happy with her new findings.

“Nonsense, Hanji.”

Levi didn't believe in fate and predestination. It was simply a coincidence that brought them together like this again, not some weird shit fate had planned. People made their own lifes, they took fate into their own hands and forged their own destinies. There was nothing supernatural, no superpower, nothing special about it, he believed.

“ _I think I lost my hearing for a moment...”_   Eren mumbled, keeping Hanji from going into another rant about how them meeting again couldn't be anything else but fate and Levi was thankful for that.

“I would say get used to it, but I really hope you don't have to.” he huffed and eyed Hanji, who pouted at him.

“Sorry, Eren! I'm just so excited! The little boy from back then is you! You grew up to be such a fine young man! And so good-looking, too! The girls must be all over you! And I'd bet some guys, too!” the woman was grinning from one ear to the other and winked at Levi at her last words.

She knew of his sexuality and she wouldn't let an opportunity like this one just pass her by. Anything to see her favourite grumpy butt a little flustered.

And _yes, there it is,_ she smiled when Levi sputtered and glared at her.

“ _Hanji!_ You can't say something like that!”

“And why not, Levi? I just complimented him -right, Eren?”

“ _Oh, uhm... I guess you did?”_   Eren offered, obviously a little lost and helpless over their conversation.

“So, are they, Eren?”

“ _Ah, huh?”_

“Are all those boys and girls all over you? You're too cute for them not to be!”

“ _Uhm, no?”_

Levi could hear the confusion clear in Eren's voice.

“No? But why not?” Hanji actually whined.

“ _Uhm, maybe because they don't know who I am?”_   Eren offered then, a little more confident.

“You know, you don't have to tell her everything just because she's asking you, right?”

“Oh shut up, Levi! I bet you want to know, too!” Hanji objected before Eren could possibly say anything.

“No, I don't. Unlike you, I respect people's privacy and don't pry everything out of them first chance I get.” Levi glared at her, daring her to keep asking Eren more questions.

“Ugh, _fine_. Be a spoilsport, then! But Eren! You have to add me, too! We have so much catching up to do! All those years! I need to know how you've been all this time!” Hanji chirped.

Levi _hoped_ Eren wouldn't agree to that, but he knew it probably wouldn't happen.

 _“Sure! I'd love to, Hanji!”_ Eren agreed and Levi had to bite his tongue to keep a pitiful groan from escaping him.

“Yay!” Hanji cheered and clapped her hands happily, “Oh, that reminds me! Did you check the band's emails recently, Eren? Have you seen the email we sent earlier?”

“ _I have. We all have, actually. Armin's working on the answer right now. It shouldn't be too long before he sends it, I think.”_

“Great!” she leant forward and started typing, “That's my account name, Eren. Just send me the request and I'll add you once I'm home!”

“ _Will do!”_   Eren agreed.

Levi had resigned himself to just listening to the two of them by then. Hanji was a naturally talkative person, unlike him, and like this he could maybe learn a few new things about Eren without coming off as nosy -though he supposed it was still kind of creepy to just sit there and listen to them talk. Maybe he should just say something, then? He had no idea what, though. Every time he opened his mouth to speak he was interrupted by either of them. In the end, he had enough.

“That's it, you two. I absolutely hate to break it to you, but it's getting late and I'd rather be sleeping than supervise you, Hanji.” he interrupted them.

Hanji gasped, looking at him in equal parts incredulous and accusing, while Eren just went silent.

“So rude, Levi! It's no wonder you don't have any friends beside me!” the woman pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

“You know I don't care about that, though. Now, do I need to kick you out or are you leaving willingly?”

Hanji huffed.

“You're no fun today, Levi! Fine, I'll be going, then. I'll talk to you later, Eren! Bye bye!” she bid farewell to Eren and got up from the couch.

“ _Ah, uhm, okay? Good bye, Hanji. It was nice talking to you.”_   Eren answered.

Levi made no efforts to see her to the door. She could find the way out on her own, and if he had, he was sure she'd be talking his ears off again. Once he heard her slam the door he sighed in relieve.

“Finally...” he mumbled and looked at his laptop.

He hadn't expected Eren to end the call, and indeed he hadn't, though he didn't say anything else, either.

“ _So, I guess I should let you get your sleep, right?”_

 

 

 

Talking to Hanji was so easy. It felt more like he was talking to a long-time friend than someone he had met only once when he was a child. She didn't lord her age or experiences over him like he felt so many other adults did and instead treated him like an equal. It felt good. He decided he liked Hanji, and he was glad he had answered that call. When Levi called it quits he was even a little sad she had to leave, but he could comfort himself with the fact that she had given him her username so he could add her and they could stay in touch. He was quiet while he waited for Levi to acknowledge that he was still there -he didn't want to hang up on him without wishing him a good night. So when he heard the man mutter something under his breath he assumed that was his cue. Sure, he would have loved to talk to Levi some more -even if it was only stuff related to the theft- but he wouldn't be so selfish. Levi had said he was tired and wanted to go to sleep, so who was Eren to keep him up all night?

“ _No, it's fine.”_   came the unexpected answer.

“Huh? I thought you said you were tired?” he probed carefully.

“ _I am. But I'm insomniac, so I can't sleep either way. I just said that to get her to go. She would have stayed the night otherwise, that damn woman.”_   Levi huffed, but Eren could tell he wasn't really angry with her.

If Eren wasn't mistaken, he would even say he could hear a certain degree of fondness in Levi's words. He smiled at the thought.

“Oh, okay?”

“ _Yes.”_

“So that means we can keep talking?” he asked tentatively.

He didn't want to bother Levi, after all. And after what Hanji had told him about Levi, he didn't really want to take his chances and ruin everything they had by just going and assuming things because he thought he knew him by now.

“ _We can, if you want to. If you'd rather be doing something else, that's fine, too. You don't have to keep me company.”_

“Ah, no. I like talking to you.”

Eren bit his lip. It had happened again. He'd been talking without thinking first.

Great!

This wasn't something he wanted Levi to know! Oh God, he was so embarrassed! And it only got worse when he didn't get an answer. Levi was silent for far too long for Eren's liking. Eventually, Eren thought he could heat Levi making a small sound, but he wasn't too sure.

“ _Oh?”_   was all Levi said to acknowledge his words, and it only made Eren feel even more anxious, even more flustered, and painfully embarrassed.

But he wasn't about to blow it here. No. _He had a grip on himself_ , he decided and took a deep breath to calm down. A mini panic attack wouldn't do him any good now.

“Yep. You're surprisingly easy to talk to.” he decided not to elaborate on that, lest he'd make a fool out of himself again.

“ _Is that so?”_ Levi asked, probably pondering over Eren's words.

“Yes.” Eren nodded, though Levi couldn't possibly see it.

“ _Hm.”_   was all Levi had to say then, but Eren could tell he was curious about his reasons.

He wouldn't ask though, and Eren wouldn't simply tell him without being prompted in that direction.

They kept talking for a surprisingly long while and only when Eren yawned repeatedly Levi told him that he should go to bed.

“But I don't wanna!” Eren whined.

“ _Jesus, Eren. Go to sleep already. You said yourself that you aren't a morning person and need your sleep, so_ _ **go get it!**_ _”_   Levi huffed and Eren could picture him crossing his arms while he said it.

“But I can sleep in anyway! I don't have to go to bed now!”

“ _Maybe not, but you really shouldn't mess up your sleep schedule. Go to bed.”_

Eren pouted.

“I'm not-” he yawned yet again, “tired, though.”

“ _Like hell you aren't. You've been yawning for the last hour almost continually.”_

“But Leviii!”

“ _You know what? I'm just going to hang up on you. That way you won't have another choice.”_   Levi threatened and Eren whined again, not happy at all.

He sighed and weighed his options -not that he really had a choice, though.

“Fine, dammit! I'll go.” he conceded.

“ _Good.”_

No, not good at all, but he had to stand by his word now, hadn't he?

“Hmpf.” Eren still pouted.

“G'night, Levi.” he mumbled more than anything else, really, but Levi seemed to have understood him just fine.

“ _Good night, Eren.”_   the man ended the call and left Eren staring at his screen morosely for a minute or so, before he finally logged out of Skype and shut his laptop.

When he flopped into bed he was asleep within seconds. He hadn't even bothered to change out of his clothes; he was just that tired.

 

 

 

The rest of the week went by fairly fast for Levi. Not because he had a lot to do, but because he spent his time with people he actually enjoyed being around -to his own surprise. He had exchanged several more emails with the blond kid -Armin- and had even had another skype call with some of the band's members. Eren wasn't a part of it, but Levi was okay with that.

That was another thing, though. Since that night where Hanji had been the one calling Eren first, he and Levi had been skype calling each other every night to talk for a little while. It usually ended up being hours before he managed to shoo Eren to bed, but he found he didn't mind it too much. In fact, he rather enjoyed himself during those calls. And he learned a lot about the younger violinist, too, though he couldn't tell if Eren let him know all those things about himself subconsciously or if he made the conscious decision to tell Levi all those things. However, talking to Eren had already become a routine he wouldn't want to miss out on and he secretly hoped Eren shared this wish. He would never ask him that, though. Anything was fine with him as long as Eren felt comfortable and happy.

By the time the weekend came around, Levi became a little restless, though. He hadn't heard anything from Nile since that last call where the man had threatened him and Levi would never openly admit to it, but it bothered him. The police didn't seem to have any news on the matter either when he called them and asked about it. Not that they told him that much anyway. He may have been a victim in Nile's ploy, but that didn't mean he had free insight to their investigations. His status as a star in the classical music world didn't help matters, either.

The one good thing that happened to him was that he finally found someone willing to be his new manager. Erwin Smith was the man's name and as far as Levi was concerned, he couldn't be trusted. Well, not with anything that wasn't work-related, anyway. The man had a cunning glint in his eyes and Levi was wary of those, but he knew that Erwin would do his job properly. He was also pretty fast in figuring out why Levi needed a new manager in the first place. Needless to say, Levi was pleasantly surprised. It spared him the hassle of having to explain everything. They decided they would deal with Nile once he made an appearance again and would concentrate on the theft for now. Levi forwarded all his email to and from the band to him so the man would be informed of everything that happened so far, but he spared out his private emails to and from Eren. Those were none of Erwin's business. And Levi wouldn't put it past him to actually make use of his and Eren's newly formed relationship. How he'd do it, Levi had no idea, but he was fairly certain that Erwin would, should he be given the tiniest chance. Levi just hoped Hanji could keep her unbelievably big mouth shut for once. Maybe he should warn her not to spill anything like that in front of the man...

When the time for his skype call to Eren came around, Levi was in a bad mood. His day had been shit and he was annoyed and pissed with himself for being moody and angry at nothing in particular and everything at once. He needed to talk to Eren. He needed to rant. To let out his frustration on some way or another. However, their usual time to call came and went and Eren wasn't online.

Levi waited.

Waited some more.

And then waited another fifteen minutes before he gave up.

Eren probably wouldn't show up tonight. And just when he really needed him, too! He knew it should ring the warning bells in his head how dependant he had become of the younger man during the last week, but he just couldn't find it in himself to care anymore. Levi grumbled something unintelligible to himself and decided that he would just go and practice, then. No use in waiting around and wasting time, right?

He didn't go and practice in his studio, though, like he usually would but took his violin to the living room instead. That way, he could have an eye on his laptop. A part of him still hoped Eren would show up and call him, profusely apologizing for being so late and letting Levi wait for so long. He was already halfway through his usual routine when that obnoxious skype sound alerted him of an incoming call. He finished the last notes he played, placed down his instrument and checked on who was calling him.

He hoped it would be Eren, but it wasn't. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. He really didn't feel like picking up that call if it wasn't Eren, but by now, he was fairly sure he wouldn't show up anymore. For a moment he wondered why he hadn’t said something about it and he just made a mental note to ask him the next day when it hit him. Eren _had_ said something about probably not being able to show up tonight, albeit just on a side note Levi hadn't paid much attention to. That was probably why he had forgotten about it in the first place. He sighed. That explained Eren's absence, at least, though he couldn't say he was happy about it. Levi still felt rather annoyed with himself and he could really use the pick-me-up that was Eren's presence, but alas, it looked like he wouldn't have that pleasure tonight, huh?

 

 

 

Despite being suspended from college, Eren's week still was pretty busy. Between working on assignments, band meetings, practice and his by now regular calls with Levi every night, Carla had gotten wind of the dilemma her children were in. Needless to say she wanted to drop everything and just give that Dean a tongue lashing he would remember to his dying day. Eren and Mikasa were both more than grateful for her willingness to help, but talked her out of doing that. It wouldn't do any of them any good and probably just make matters worse than they already were. However, they couldn't talk her out of buying a plane ticket for the weekend and to travel to the other end of the states to visit her children. She wanted to be there for them and support them in any way she could. Even if she wasn't allowed to talk to the Dean, there were still some things she could do. Like talk to the administration board and stuff like that. Maybe she could also get the other's parents to help out, too. They shouldn't be too happy about their children being suspended either.

Eren and Mikasa picked her up at the airport that Friday evening, both more than happy to see her again. The last time they had seen her had been on the Christmas holidays, and they hadn't been back home since, having chosen to stay at their little flat during the summer.

“Mum!” Eren caught her in a bone crushing hug and even swirled them around in a circle in his happiness.

“Eren, Mikasa. It's so good to see you again!” Carla laughed, glad her two children were well.

“Mum.” Mikasa smiled a small, albeit happy smile and joined their hug for a moment.

“We should get going. Where are you staying?”

“I was hoping I could stay with you two, actually.”

“Of course you can! We don't have a guest room, but you can have mine and I'll just sleep on the couch!” Eren volunteered.

“Oh honey, that's nonsense. I can take the couch.”

“No, mum. We'd be shitty hosts if we let you sleep on our couch.” Mikasa objected, supporting Eren's opinion, “Though you'd probably be better off taking my bed. Who knows what he's doing in there all the time.”

“Mikasa!” Eren yelped and shot her a betrayed look.

“What? It's true though, isn't it? Lately you've been in there all the time, locking yourself in and doing god-knows-what.”

Eren pouted.

“I'm not doing anything like that, you should pull your mind out of the gutter, sis. But if it makes you feel better; I would have changed the sheets later, of course.”

Carla had followed their exchange with an amused expression and then shook her head.

“It's fine, you two. If I remember correctly, that couch of yours is a pull-out couch. I'll be fine with it for a few nights.”

When they finally had set up Carla's bed in the living room and it was time for them to go to bed, Eren was exhausted and dead tired. He knew he had missed his call to Levi, but he couldn't be bothered. He just wanted to sleep. Sure, he did feel bad, but he had told Levi that he might not make it tonight, so all should be fine, right? He yawned and got comfortable in his bed. For a while, his mind kept spinning, thinking about the days to come and how he was looking forward to talk to Levi again the next day.

He was woken by the smell of pancakes and coffee wafting in his nose, something that usually only happened when he was at his mum's place. For a second there he was confused, but then he remembered the day before and a big smile made it to his face. Humming happily, he got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen, the promise of caffeine and food too strong to resist.

“Morning, mum.” he smiled when he spotted her standing at the stove, flipping pancakes.

“Good morning, dear. Coffee?”

“Yes, please.”

Carla hummed and got a cup ready for him.

“Thank you, mum. You're an angel.”

“I know.” Carla chuckled.

“Is Mika up?”

“I don't think so. Why don't you go wake her so we can all have breakfast together?”

“No. No offence, but she turns into a demon every time I wake her. She's just like me.” Eren smiled ruefully, “I guess I'm finally rubbing off on her.”

“Well, we'll let her wake in her own time, then. Was there anything you had planned for today?”

“Nothing I can think of right now, but I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to have a look at the emails we exchanged with Rivaille.” Eren shrugged.

 

 

 

“What the hell does _she_ want?” Levi muttered and glared at the name of the person calling him.

It was no use ignoring her; she'd just let it keep ringing until he gave up, so he'd do better by just accepting the call. Though he did wonder what she could possibly want from him now. Usually she called his phone if it was something important. He sighed and then accepted. Better see what this was all about.

“ _Levi!”_   he was greeted by her cheery voice.

“Hanji. What do you want?” Levi sighed and got comfortable on the couch.

This would probably take a while.

“ _What? I can't talk to my favourite grumpy butt when I feel like it?”_

He could practically see her pout.

“No, you can't.”

“ _Aw, come on. Don't be like that, Levi!”_

“Like what?”

“ _You know what I mean! Why are you always so mean to me? With Eren you're so nice all the time! Why can't you be nice to me, too?”_

“I'm not any different when I talk to him. He just has a weird perception of these things, I guess.” Levi shrugged, trying to let it sound as casual as possible.

“ _Are you sure about that, Levi? Because I can totally see you acting all nice and buddy-buddy with Eren! You like him, don't you?”_ Hanji suspected.

Levi decided to play the fool.

“What do you mean, 'like him'?”

“ _Oh come on, Levi! You have a thing for Eren, don't you? Why else would you be talking to him every night?”_

What the hell?! Levi frowned. He didn't even need to ask where she got that from. Eren must have told her.

“No. I don't have a 'thing' for him, as you so eloquently put it, Hanji.” he denied, “Where did you even get that idea from?”

“ _Oh but you do, Levi. I know the type of guys you like. Don't forget I'm your best friend! I know you, Levi. I know you must at least find Eren attractive, otherwise you wouldn't bother with him!”_

“Wrong.”

Well, no, not wrong, but he wasn't about to admit that to her of all people.

“I talk to him because I still hope to get him to work with me some time in the future.”

Hopefully Hanji would believe that.

“ _You sure, Levi? You don't usually go that far just for a collaboration. In fact, you never persisted on one until now.”_

“Yes, I'm sure.” he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

This became more annoying the more time went by.

“ _Well, if you say so.”_   she singsonged and Levi had no doubt at all that she would keep a close eye on him from now on.

He suppressed another sigh.

“Yes, I do. Now, was there anything else you wanted or can I go back to practice?”

“ _Oh, you were practising? Is that why you took so long to pick up?”_

“Yes.”

“ _Hm. Go on then. Play something for me? Pretty please?”_

He bit back a bark of laughter at that. Sometimes, she just wasn't predictable at all. One minute she talked about his crush and analysed his behaviour down to a phi, and then she was demanding him to do things for her!

“And what's in it for me if I do?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> I'm sorry this is a week late, but I had my reasons for not updating last weekend. something happened that left me not feeling like writing at all and I only just picked it up again during this week. I know this chapter is allover the place and a lot is happening in it, and that may very well be because it still feels like chaos in my head, but I think this is somewhat bearable. And I hope the next chapter will be better again. I know I'm doing better than I did last week and I started to cope with what happened, though it is still hard. I'm still getting used to the new routine and I think it might be a while before I'm back on track, but I think I'll manage. I don't feel like sharing what exactly happened last week on here, but if you want to know, you can shoot me an ask on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/) and I'll answer it privately, as long as it's not sent on anon. I will not be answering anon-asks about this, since they can only be answered publically and I dont want to share what happened with the whole world to see.
> 
> Aside from that, _thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments_ since the last update, you guys are amazing! You make my day everytime I see a new comment x3 Lots of love and kisses to all of you! :*
> 
> And a big thank you again to wonderful [MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) for being my beta and helping sort through this mess of a chapter! ê_e


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo!  
> I'm back with a new chapter!  
> And it took me only four and a half months this time xD  
> Time sure flies...  
> Well, anyways, enjoy!  
> (this is unbetad so any mistakes you might find are solely on me xD)

Eren watched silently while his mother read through the email the band had exchanged with Rivaille since the discovery of the theft. She was reading everything carefully and was even taking notes. He could only guess she wrote own the things she wanted to ask them about later or what she thought would be important to know from Rivaille.

Mikasa was awake by now, too, and was nursing a cup of Carla's famous coffee. She hadn't said much yet besides a mumbled “Good morning.” when she entered the kitchen, but neither Eren nor Carla minded.

It was quiet in their kitchen while the siblings waited for their mother to finish reading, and when she did she gave a long sigh.

“Well, that's quite something. Rivaille does sound believable enough, I suppose. And you said you skyped with him, too. How did he come off to you?” she inquired, looking over her notes.

Eren shrugged. He trusted Levi and believed him when he had said he hadn't known it was their song he was playing, but maybe he was a little biased on that front.

“He seemed nice enough, if not a little crude. He was serious about the whole matter, but he listened to everything we had to say and seemed intend on finding out how this happened in the first place.” Mikasa answered and Eren nodded along. He couldn't have said it any better.

“That's good to know, I suppose. Did you tell him about your predicament with the college?”

Now that was a question the siblings would answer differently. Mikasa didn't know Eren was talking to Levi in the privacy of his room and had told him all about that matter, but it didn't matter because again, it was her that answered Carla's question.

“No, we didn't. Should we have?”

Carla pondered on that for a little while before answering. “I'm not sure. On the one hand he could be wanting to support you and see if he could do something to help you, but on the other he couldn't care less about it. I don't know enough about him to know that for sure.”

Eren knew, of course, but he wasn't about to tell them. Not yet, at least. It wasn't like Levi could do much to help them anyway. That, and he wanted to keep his contact to his idol a secret for a little longer. Mikasa hummed in answer to Carla's words.

“I'd say you should tell him, though. In case the dean decides he _does_ want to talk to the press bout you and the theft, he should at least have a fair warning about the possibility.”

“Yeah, you're right.” Eren agreed.

“What about the others? Aren't their parents in on this?”

“Well, Armin's grandfather is a little too old by now, and I don't think Jean or Annie told theirs. Marco's might know, though.” Eren said, “We can ask them later if you want. I think they said we were having a meeting in our basement later today.”

“That might be a good idea. If we could get their parents to help, too, the dean might be able to see reason. And if it won't work, we can always threaten by saying we're going to court. I bet he wouldn't like that idea very much.” Carla nodded in determination.

 

They hadn't warned the rest of the band that their mother would be joining them that day, so of course there were questions asked about who the woman was they brought with them. And instead of having her children introduce her, Carla spoke for herself.

“I'm Carla, Eren's and Mikasa's mother. I've heard a lot about all of you already and I'm happy to meet you!” Well, she had met Armin once before, but it has been a while since then.

Everyone looked wide-eyed at Carla, probably trying to determine from watching alone what she could possibly want with them and why she was there in the first place. After a moment though, Marco broke the silence that had settled over the group by smiling and extending his hand to her to greet her properly.

“Hello, I'm Marco. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Jaeger!”

“Please, just Carla is fine!” the woman persisted and shook his hand.

Soon everyone was introduced and had settled comfortably on the couch or the floor.

“So, no offence, Eren, but why did you bring your mother?” Jean asked, ever the blunt one. Marco batted his arm in what was supposed to be a chiding manner, but even he couldn't take back a question that's already been asked.

 

  

 

Levi had ended up playing a few pieces for Hanji, even though he thought she didn't deserve it. Well, he could always make her suffer later, couldn't he? He had just hung up the skype call and was now contemplating whether to go to bed or staying up a while longer, when his phone rang.

Looking at yet another unknown number, Levi decided to ignore it and just inform the police of the call come morning. They would find out if this was Nile calling him again or just someone who accidentally dialled the wrong number.

He yawned. It wasn't that late yet but dealing with Hanji and moping because Eren hadn't been online tonight had left him feeling more tired than he would usually be around this time of the night. At least his bad mood from earlier had subsided a little. With a sigh he decided to give sleeping a try. Maybe he would actually fall asleep for a change and get a decent amount of rest. He could definitely use it.

The next day went by fairly uneventful for him. He _had_ managed to sleep for more than just a few hours and his mood was almost good. The police promised to look into the number that had called him ad to actually inform him if they found out anything about it or even Nile's whereabouts or why he was trying to ruin Levi's career.

He didn't tell Hanji about the new call, mainly because he didn't even know if it _had_ been Nile calling him or not. And he did not want to deal with questions he couldn't even answer himself. He occupied himself with his practice and listening to more of Eren's and the band's music.

They had a lot of talent and he didn't doubt they could make it in the industry if they only just put all their effort into it. He knew though that all of them prioritised their education at the moment, and who knew how they would feel about their music two or three years from now when they were done with their studies?

At some point in the afternoon his new manager called him, asking about the band's contacts. He wanted to talk to them and hear their version of the story in their own words. Sure, he had read all the emails Levi had forwarded to him and watched the video statement, but he wanted to get to know them. And that only worked by actually talking to the group. With a sigh Levi gave Erwin the band's skype contact. He didn't have a phone number either, he told Erwin and the man had to deal with what he could get. They ended the call then and Levi shot the band a quick text, informing them about his manager, that he wanted to talk to them and that he had forwarded their contact to the man.

After that he went to practice some more until his hands moved on their own, creating melodies and tunes out of nothing. He let his mind wander, his thoughts drifting and eventually starting to circle around the image of a certain brunet. Sun-kissed skin, unruly hair, green eyes, a slender but still muscular frame and a temper that could suck you in and burn you to ashes if you weren't careful. Hadn't even known he needed to be. And now he was trapped. Caught in the look of those mesmerizing eyes, held prisoner to that sweet voice, and Eren didn't even know it.

Probably would be grossed out, too, after all Levi was so much older than him.

The melodies he played turned bittersweet then ad eventually stopped altogether. Levi knew he could never let Eren -or anyone else for that matter- know. Though with all the luck he had had recently it wouldn't surprise him if Hanji found out about it. Heck, she was onto him already! For now he could deny everything of course, the question was just; for how long would he be able to keep it up? Knowing Hanji and just how persistent she could be, probably not for too long, Levi thought darkly.

He was still hoping this was just a short infatuation and wouldn't grow into a full-blown crush or even something worse. He already felt shitty as it was, no need to make it even worse. Sighing, he put away his violin. With thoughts like that clouding his mind his playing wouldn't be as good as it usually was.

He was just fixing himself a small dinner when his skype started to ring in that obnoxious ringtoe. For a brief moment he wondered if Hanji was calling him and contemplated to just ignore it, but then again, it could be Eren, too. So he decided to at least take a look at the caller's name before he made a decision.

 

  

 

 

They had spent most of the day with the band and talking to Carla, recalling their conversations with Rivaille and making plans on how to proceed from now on. Carla said she wanted to talk to the violinist, if possible, but luckily the band could talk her out of that. Instead they allowed her to talk to all of their parents, to try and get them all together to talk to the dean about the suspension of the group and the threats he had made towards them.

Within an hour she had talked to them all and it amazed Eren how easily she had managed to get the other parents to support the group. Sadly not all of them would be able to come in person, since their work wouldn't allow for it or they lived in different states. However, they promised to they would call the dean and let him know what they thought of the way he had treated their children. That was more than enough in Carla's opinion and when everything was arranged for a meeting, the band decided to get a little practice in.

they had been busy lately and hadn't really had the time to concentrate on their music. Carla was happy she could see her children play and enjoy themselves. Whenever she saw them play their instruments she was glad she had allowed them to try when their interest first drifted towards music.

The band enjoyed themselves greatly while they played for their small audience and fooled around a lot. Even Annie let herself be roped into a little dance with Marco and Jean.

 

Back at home, Carla coerced her children into helping her to fix dinner, though honestly, neither of them minded. They both enjoyed the time they could spend with her, knowing that their time together was limited. Dinner was filled with laughter and stories told by Mikasa and Eren about their time at college, about their professors and other students.

When they were done and the leftovers put away, Mikasa and Carla decided to watch a movie, but Eren declined. Not because he didn't like the movie the two had chosen, but because he wanted to talk to Levi. The day before he had been too tired to care, but tonight he was wide awake. That, and he had become used to talking to Levi during the last week. It had felt weird not talking to him. Not that he would ever admit as much to anyone.

So he retreated into his room, closed and locked the door and started his laptop. He logged into skype and scrolled through his contacts until he found the name he was looking for. Sadly, Levi wasn't online yet. Eren sighed and looked at the time. Not even 8pm yet. Levi usually was online by now, so he hoped he would show up soon. And until then he could always do something else on the internet. Like answering the tons of messages on his Youtube channel or scouring the search-engines for any new bullshit about the song-theft. It would at least keep him busy until he found a better past-time.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long for Levi to show up. The little orange box in the right corner of his screen informing him that Levi had logged in. And before Eren could even switch to his skype window, the obnoxious ringing of an incoming call started blaring through his speakers. Good thing he kept the volume on low these days, so no one would hear it. Not that he was doing something forbidden, but he didn't want to share his time with Levi. He quickly clicked to accept the call and waited with held breath for Levi to say something.

 

  

 

It _was_ Hanji who had been calling him so Levi her in favour of his dinner. She tried calling him five more times before she gave up and instead called his phone. Levi ignored that, too, happily munching away on his pasta. He could always call her back later. Not like she could want anything important anyway. There were no new developments he could tell her about and everything else wasn't really any of her business. Eventually, the incessant ringing stopped and Levi could finish his dinner in peace and quiet. He then went to his laptop, closing skype so Hanji wouldn't try calling him there again and surfed the internet while he waited for the time Eren was usually online. Levi really hoed the young violinist would be there tonight.

Which was actually really pathetic of him, being so dependent on such a young man after only a week of knowing him. He tutted and decided to ignore that little nagging voice in the back of his mind that was making fun of him every chance it got. He was good at that. Droning it out with his music was also a very good way to get it to shut up.

Levi logged into skype again about half an hour later, finding Eren's name on the list of his online contacts. He didn't hesitate to hit the 'call'-button, again effectively ignoring the voice in his mind that told him how pathetic and needy he was being. He reasoned he had every right to be, after all he hadn't talked to Eren the day before and he had become used to talking to him every day over the last week.

“Hey Levi!” Eren's breathless voice echoed through his living room and had Levi unconsciously smile.

“Hello, Eren.” he hummed and shuffled a little to get comfortable on his couch. Leaning his back against one of the armrests, his legs stretched out and his laptop resting on his thighs.

“How are you? I'm sorry I couldn't make it yesterday!”

“It's fine, you said already you might not be able to make it. I guess I'm good. Just a little stressed with all the stuff that's happening.”

“Oh? Well, I hope tomorrow will be better for you, then.” Levi could practically _hear_ Eren smile and hummed. Truth be told, he hoped so, too, but he had the sinking suspicion that it wouldn't happen.

“We'll see. Did you do okay yesterday and today?” Actually, he couldn't remember if Eren had mentioned the reason for maybe not being able to skype the day before, so this was his subtle way of trying to find out what had kept the brunet from him.

“I guess so. Yeah, I was busy yesterday because we had to pick up our mother from the airport and get her situated in our flat. And today we were out with the band and organized a few things. Mum's planning to talk to the dean, too. Together with the others parents.”

Levi nodded along.

“She flew?”

“Yeah, she lives with dad down in Cali, so we don't see her that often except for the holidays. The tickets wouldn't be a problem, but the time difference isn't that easy to handle, even if its only a few hours.” Levi could just picture Eren shrugging.

“Oh? So you're living somewhere on the east coast?”

“Yup, we're living in Portland in the beautiful state of Maine.”

Levi was surprised. That was only two towns over from him. Hell, he could have even _met_ Eren before in passing and never known. Huh.

“Why are you asking, though?”

“Just curious.” Levi shrugged, “How long is your mother going to stay?”

“I don't know. Maybe a week? Maybe two?”

“Hmm...”

“Oh! I just remembered! You never actually told me about the stuff you mentioned in your emails; that there was something else that might have to do with the theft and you would tell me eventually?”

Levi furrowed his brows in thought. He _had_ said he would tell Eren, that much was true. And he had everything pretty much settled and knew most of the details, so he could tell him.

“I guess I said that, didn't I? Tell me Eren, how familiar are you with my management?”

Eren hummed, signalling he was thinking about the question.

“Hm, I think someone named Nile is your manager and he works for Legion records?”

Ah, so Eren didn't know yet that Nile had quit on him.

“That would have been correct until last week. To make a long story short, Nile was the one who handed me the music sheets to your song. He told me it was sent in anonymously, the sender asking if I would play it if I liked it enough. He said I was allowed to do with it as I pleased. I never actually saw anything written down or anything. I trusted Nile to tell me the truth in such matters. That was wrong of me and why we're in this mess now in the first place. However, about two weeks ago, Nile called me and things escalated. He told me straight out that he had planned to ruin my career with this. That your band was just collateral damage he was willing to risk. He also told me he wouldn't be my manager any longer. Well, that's basically it.” he huffed. That had been a pretty long speech for him.

Eren had listened quietly, and even now, when Levi was done explaining, he kept silent. Levi could only guess that the young man was still thinking about what had just been revealed to him, so he settled for waiting. It didn't take long and he could hear Eren huff from the other side of the line.

“So you're saying your manager is at fault?”

“Yes. No. He did hand me the sheets, but I should have checked for a written permission and not blindly trust his words like I did.”

“Maybe. But you couldn't have known he was lying to you. Why did he do it, anyway? Did he tell you a reason?”

“No.” Levi almost growled. He was still beyond pissed at Nile, “We've been thinking about a reason ever since he told me, but neither Hanji or I could think of anything as of yet.”

“Hmpf.” Eren drew a deep breath and slowly let it go, blowing the air into his micro.

“Oi, stop that.”

“Hm?”

“You blew into your micro.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Levi tutted, “It's okay. Just don't do it again.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that's it :D  
> I'm really happy how this turned out despite my writing it while I've been staying at the hospital (I mentioned it a while ago in the notes of another fic I'm currently working on, so some of you might know of this already)  
> However, I'm doing good and all the free time I have on my hands right now goes into writing more chapters for my fics. I also have quite a special treat for you guys that I might upload in two weeks time since I don't think I'll manage to finish copying it this weekend. You might want to have a look out for that ;D  
> Also, I'll be updating [Your soul on my Skin](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5116253/chapters/11770262#main) later today/tonight at the usual time of 10pm CET :)
> 
> Aside from that, anyone who wants to chat or talk ereri AUs is welcome to drop by on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) x3


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woop!  
> It's just two months after the last update and here I am again! What kind of sorcery is this? :D  
> Well, anyways, enjoy the unbetad chapter!  
> Any and all mistakes are on me, as usual x)

They'd been talking for not even an hour when Mikasa knocked on his door.

“Eren! Mum and I are going out again!”

He frowned and mumbled a quiet “Be right back!” to Levi before he muted his microphone and the volume of his laptop.

“Out? I thought you wanted to watch a movie?” he asked, getting up from his bed and heading over to the door to open it.

“We are. We're just going over to the 7-11.”

“The 7-11? what are you going to get?”

“Ice cream and cookies.”

Eren's eyes widened. Ice cream and cookies were always good.

“Bring me some, too?”

Mikasa gave him a look that said _'Well duh, why else am I talking to you right now?'_ and Eren grinned.

“Your favourite?” she asked and now Eren positively beamed at her.

“Yes, please!”

Mikasa offered him an amused smile and then turned to leave. Eren plopped down on his bed again, and the second he had un-muted his microphone and volume, he was talking to Levi again.

“Back! Mikasa's gonna get me my favourite ice cream!” He was still grinning from ear to ear and Levi huffed, no doubt wondering how Eren could be so excited over something so mundane like ice cream.

“Oh? Which one?” he inquired anyway, just to keep the conversation going.

“Häagen Dasz Vanilla Caramel Brownie!” Eren spoke in glee, happily wriggling around on his bed to get comfortable. That ice cream was incredibly expensive and they usually only had it on special occasions, but apparently Mikasa was willing to make an exception to the rule since Carla was here.

“What's that?” Levi asked, obviously never having heard of it.

“You don't know _Häagen Dasz Vanilla Caramel Brownie_?!”

“Never heard of it.”

“What?! You need to try it!” Eren demanded and quickly searched for [a picture](https://d1d8i24om29pt.cloudfront.net/static/desktop/products/haagen-dazs_vanilla-caramel-brownie.png) of the ice cream so Levi would know what to look for the next time he went shopping.

“Hm, maybe I will.” Levi hummed, probably having looked at the picture Eren sent him and Eren, still a little miffed, muttered “You better.” under his breath.

“You know, I heard that.”

Eren shrugged. It's not like Levi could do anything about that.

“Yeah, so?”

“Better be careful with what you say or I might actually come over there to beat some manners into you, brat.”

“Oh come on, like you would actually do that.”

“Is that a dare, Eren?” Levi asked, voice low and somewhat threatening.

Eren gulped. He didn't know if Levi would actually do that. They had never really exchanged any stories about themselves, so he didn't know if Levi would go through with it if Eren actually dared him. Don't get him wrong, he would absolutely love to meet the man, his idol, and talk to him in person, but he wasn't so sure that would be a good way to go about it. Heck, even now he sometimes stuttered and blushed when talking to him!

“No! No, it's not.” he quickly denied.

Levi chuckled. It was like he'd guessed Eren would say that. Eren pouted, happy the man couldn't actually see him.

“And you are sure about that?” Levi questioned and Eren wasn't sure he heard quite a teasing tone in Levi's words.

“Yes, I am.” he huffed with some kind of finality to his words. -At lest he hoped so.

“Too bad.” Levi tutted.

“Sorry, but I'd rather not be punched.” Eren stuck his tongue out at his laptop even though Levi couldn't see him.

“Okay, okay. No punches, then.”

“Promise?”

Levi huffed. “Yeah, promise.”

“Say it.”

“I, Levi Ackerman promise not to punch you if I ever get to meet you in person. Happy now?”

“Very much so.” Eren grinned again.

“You little devil.” Levi grumbled and Eren just couldn't pass up the opportunity given to him.

“I'm pretty sure I'm taller than you, though.”

“Eren.” Levi growled, “Don't try my patience.”

Eren bit his lip. Levi did sound serious just now. Maybe it would be better if he stopped teasing him. -For now, anyway.

“Okay, Levi.” he conceded, shuffling around on his bed.

It would still be a little while before Mikasa and his mother would be back from their impromptu shopping trip.

“Oh, by the way. I'm not sure you've seen it yet but I gave your band's skype contact to my new manager. He said he wanted to talk to you, hear your side of the story for himself.”

Eren hummed. He hadn't seen it yet -and neither had one of the others, or it would've been mentioned in their group chat already- but now he could tell Armin and let the blond deal with that new manager.

“Okay, thanks for telling me.”

Levi agreed with an unintelligible noise.

 

 

 

“Mr. Ackerman, I went through all the emails you sent me regarding the exchange between you and Titan's band and I also had the chance to talk to a few of the members via skype call, like you suggested.” Erwin -Mr. Smith- said, after offering Levi and Hanji seats at his enormous desk.

Levi nodded and even Hanji stayed quiet. No doubt she was waiting for more information before she would speak up.

“It seems to be like you said. They are quite the agreeable bunch and while I don't doubt your good will when you offered to simply share the profits of the song, as your manager I should advise you against this.”

Levi narrowed his eyes at the blond man.

“Oh shut up. I know the label expects me to earn them a shit ton of money with that album, but I looked at the numbers. If I decide to share what I earn with the band, there's still more than enough for the label's greedy moneybags. And I have more money than I can spend in one life, anyway, so where's the problem?”

“The problem lies in the concept, Mr. Ackerman. If you share the profit with that band, other people might try to do the same.” Mr. Smith argued.

“Well, they deserve it, though. It _is_ their song, after all.”

Mr. Smith huffed.

“I'm not saying they don't. I'm just saying that if other people know of this, they might want to try the same, which would be a lot of money that the label would lose.”

“Which is really not my problem now, is it?” Levi glared. Even Hanji tutted in response to Mr. Smith's words.

“It may not be, now. But people always need scapegoats for the misfortunes they're in, and I fear that in this case, it would be you, Mr. Ackerman.” Mr. Smith met Levi's glare head on, seemingly unfazed by it.

“And what makes you think I care about becoming a scapegoat or not?”

Here, Mr. Smith shrugged. That showed Levi he won the argument. If Mr. Smith had nothing more to say on the matter, then that was that.

“Good. That's settled, then. Will you let the band know or should I do it?”

“Whichever suits you best, Mr. Ackerman. I will get the necessary papers ready. Could you come by again tomorrow to sign them?”

“I'll do it. Is around 2pm okay for you?” Levi nodded.

“Yes, of course, Mr. Ackerman. I'll see you tomorrow, then.”

 

He wanted to tell Eren the supposedly good news the minute he got home, not caring that Hanji barrelled their way into his home beside him. However, Hanji wouldn't let him. -Not that she knew what he wanted to do, but he had a feeling she knew either way. She was creepily clever like that.

“Levi! Let's order take-out and start a movie-marathon! We need to celebrate!”

“Celebrate what?” he wanted to know, frowning at the eager expression Hanji was showing.

“That Mr. Eyebrows accepted your wish to share the profit of the song with the band, of course!”

Levi involuntarily snorted at the nickname Hanji seemed to have given to Mr. Smith. Well, it did him, so he wouldn't say anything about it. He would probably have to be careful, though, or else he'd end up addressing the man like that in his presence, too. Which would be highly unprofessional. Hanji cackled, knowing what she had just done. That name would stick with them now for as long as the man kept being Levi's manager.

“Mr. Eyebrows? Really, Hanji?” Levi huffed, rolling his eyes as Hanji launched into another fit of giggles. Levi ignored that, instead hanging up his jacket on the coat rack and placing his shoes beneath it.

“If you don't calm down, I suppose you're willing to pay for all the shit you want to order?” That had her shut up almost immediately, before she actually squealed in glee and clapped her hands in excitement.

“Yes! Levi, you are the best!”

“Thank you for treating me.” Levi smirked. He knew Hanji hadn't actually agreed to his question, but it was her own fault for not expressing herself clearly.

“Leviiii!” she pouted, noticing her mistake and latching herself onto his arm.

He just dragged her with him to the living room and held the phone out to her.

“Since I guess you'll be crashing her tonight, you're going to order, too.”

Hanji whined in his ear. Levi knew he wasn't exactly being fair, but he didn't care. This was Hanji, after all.

“Fiiiiiine! We're getting Chinese _and_ Pizza, though!”

Levi shrugged.

“Whatever floats your boat, shitty glasses. You're paying, remember?”

She made an unintelligible noise of distress, but let go of his arm and started to go through the phone's saved numbers to first call the Chinese place and then their favourite pizza parlour. Levi started to prepare his living room; bringing plates, glasses, cutlery and drinks over from the kitchen, as well as some extra blankets and pillows he had stored in the hallway cupboard for exactly this occasions.

After that, it didn't take long for their food to arrive and to get the first movie started and soon Levi had forgotten all about wanting to call the young violinist and tell him of the good news.

 

 

 

Eren woke up feeling groggy and slightly annoyed. He had stayed up for the better part of last night, hoping that Levi would show up at some point -he didn't- and had ended up binge-watching some marvel series. And now he regretted doing it, though at that point last night it had seemed perfectly reasonable to him to do that.

“Suck it up, idiot...” he muttered to himself, ruffling his hair and sitting up in his bed, blanket pooling around his waist.

He knew it shouldn't matter that Levi hadn't shown up for their every-night-call without so much as telling Eren he might not be able to make it that evening, but it did. In a weird kind of way that Eren refused to have a closer look into. He tried to tell himself that maybe something got in the way on Levi's end, maybe something happened that the man needed to deal with immediately; or something like that. Eren didn't think he would've just forgotten. All he could do was wait for tonight and hope he'd get some kind of explanation from the man. _If_ Levi showed up, that is. For now though he should probably focus on the day ahead of him and the plans they had made.

His mum would most likely be out all day, meeting the other parents and then going to deal with the dean, meaning that Mikasa and he would be alone for the majority of the day. With a look to his phone he checked the time -10.18am- and groaned. He had slept longer than he'd planned to, but that was probably his own fault for staying up all night.

Eren was studying for a while already when his stomach growled. Only then did he realize that he hadn't actually eaten anything yet. Well, nothing but unhealthy snacks and coffee, anyway. With a sigh, he finished reading the paragraph he was at, then closed the book and sauntered over to the kitchen in search for something more filling. Mikasa had left earlier to study with Annie, and his mum was still out, so he could probably get away with quickly shoving a pizza into the oven.

He was just getting the pizza out when he heard his skype ringing, letting him know he got a call. Eren frowned. Who would call him in the middle of the day on skype? His friends all had his phone number and usually called there if they needed to talk to him, so who -? grabbing some cutlery and the pizza, he hurried back to his room, wanting to see who was bothering him now of all times.

“Hanji?” he murmured, seeing the name flashing on his screen.

What could she possibly want from him at this time of the day? Didn't she have work to do or something? Somewhat cautiously, he clicked to accept the call, even though he hadn't been talking (really talking) to her since that time when she had sneaked into Levi's account and called him from the man's name.

“Hello?” he asked, sitting down at his desk and pulling the pizza over to him.

“Eren! My sweetiepie! How are you? I haven't heard from you for days! Are you alright? Nothing happened to you, right?” he was greeted by the woman's seemingly endless chatter.

“I'm fine, Hanji. Just been busy with trying to stay on top of my studies and stuff.”

“Oh, that's good, then! Say, Eren, how would you and the band feel about doing a shared media interview with Levi?”

“Uhm. I don't know? I would have to ask the others what they think about it first.” he shrugged, not sure if Hanji was actually serious about this.

Hanji huffed. “Well, what do _you_ think? Would _you_ do it?”

“Maybe. Depends on how you plan to do it in the first place, I guess.”

“Dumbass. We'd come over there, of course!”

Eren frowned. Well, it would probably be for the best if she and Levi came over to them than the other way around, sine he didn't have even the slightest idea of where they actually lived. And in case they'd have to fly over... well. Let's just say not all of the band's members were as well off as Eren and Mikasa.

“Well, I guess that would be fine. -If the others agree, that is.” he sighed. “Does Levi know you're planning this?”

Hanji made an indignant sound and muttered something Eren couldn't quite catch and he took that as a _'no, Levi doesn't know yet'._

“Hanji...” he sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You should discuss this with him first, before asking us.”

“Ah, but if I can tell him you guys would be okay with it, he'd be more inclined to agree to it!” she chirped, obviously having thought of that argument already.

“I don't know. We'll have to think about it.”

Hanji didn't seem to be too happy about Eren's evasive answer, but accepted it anyway.

“Hmpf, okay. Be sure to let me know once you decide it, though!”

“Yeah, of course, Hanji.”

“Great! Well, until next time then, sweetiepie!” and she ended the call with that.

Eren stared at his screen for another moment, trying to process what just happened, before he turned back to munching on his pizza and studying.

 

 

 

Levi woke up with a stiff neck and drool on his shirt.

“Gross...” he muttered and shoved a sleeping Hanji from his shoulder.

Apparently they had both fallen asleep some time during Mad Max, seeing as that was the last thing he could remember watching. He once again noticed that sleeping on his couch wasn't a good idea, at least not in a sitting position. And not while sharing it with Hanji of all people. She, for her part, just grumbled and curled up against the armrest on her other side when he shoved her over. The woman slept like the dead.

The clock on the wall showed him that it was barely 8am on a Saturday. He could go to bed and sleep for another two hours or three hours. Or he could go and practice in his studio. Or he could get rid of the mess of boxes and left-over food from their impromptu movie marathon. Clean up and get everything back to normal. That however, would most likely wake Hanji, even if she was fast asleep. Levi sighed. Cleaning up would have to wait. He didn't want to deal with Hanji just yet. His bed seemed to be the best choice for now. Maybe sleeping for a little longer would rid him of his stiff neck...

 

“You did _what_?!” he asked incredulously, staring the woman down.

“I called Eren and asked him if he thought holding a shared interview with you and the band would be a good idea and whether he could ask the other band members on their opinion about it. Since I don't know how to contact them and all.” Hanji grinned a self-satisfied grin and Levi shook his head, resigned.

“And? What did he say?” The fact that she hadn't told him already either meant she didn't get an answer yet herself or she wanted something else from him first.

“He said he wouldn't be against it, but he'd have to ask the others, of course. He can't decide things like that on his own, after all.”

“And why are you telling me all of this now?”

“Just so you won't be too surprised f Eren brings it up during your next call.”

Levi opened his mouth to protest, to deny is regular calls with Eren, but Hanji talked right over him.

“And don't you dare say you don't usually talk every night, Levi! I know you, and Eren confirmed it, too.”

Levi huffed. Well, there was no denying that anymore, then. As long as Hanji hadn't caught on to his ever growing infatuation with the younger violinist, everything would be fine.

“I would love to know what the two of you are talking about all the time, though. You can't be talking just about your music and the theft all the time.” she narrowed her eyes at him, trying to figure out the puzzle presented to her.

Levi shrugged, returning her searching look with a glare.

“Well, we are.”

Most of the time, anyway. Sure, every once in a while they veered off to more personal things, talking about their day or themselves. Well, okay, not every once in a while but at least every other call. Not that Hanji needed to know that, though.

“Nonsense. You can't be talking _for hours_ just about that, Levi. _Especially_ not you, my favourite grumpy-butt. You're not a people-person, and much less a talkative one.” her eyes gleamed. She was on to something and she knew it.

Levi kept glaring at her, silently daring her to keep talking.

“And don't you dare tell me it's just because you want to work with him, either.” she pointed her finger at him.

Levi's glare intensified, but he stayed silent. He knew that if he kept talking now, Hanji would sooner rather than later figure everything out. And he couldn't let that happen. Crossing his arms over his chest, he shifted his weight a little, waiting for the woman to keep talking.

“Levi! Why don't you tell me already? You know I'll find out anyway!” Hanji almost whined now.

Levi just raised his eyebrow in silent disagreement. Hanji huffed, watching his every reaction. She knew Levi was on the defensive just now, that he didn't want her to find out whatever it was he was hiding from her. She would have none of that, though. Levi would tell her, and if she had to keep nagging him for weeks! She knew he would break eventually, giving into her incessant pestering.

“Come on, Levi. Just tell your best friend already! It can't be that bad! Besides, I'm happy that you're talking to Eren so much! Back then, the boy adored you. I bet he does even now!”

Levi sighed, shaking his head.

“Drop it, Hanji.”

She pouted, bounding over to him and wrapping one arm around his shoulders in a half-hug.

“It can't be that bad, Levi!”

“Shove off, Hanji!” he tried to push her away, to no avail. If Hanji didn't want to let go, she wouldn't. Simple as that.

“There is nothing, Hanji. That's what I keep telling you! But do you actually listen to me? No!”

“That's because it's _you_ we're talking about! You don't just talk for hours on end with almost-strangers, Levi!”

“Eren isn't a stranger, though.” Levi pointed out and immediately regretted saying it.

Hanji's eyebrows shot up, almost vanishing under her hairline. Levi could see how the pieces clicked into place in her mind.

“ _Oh my god_ , Levi! You _like_ like him, don't you?!” she squealed and Levi cringed at the volume of her voice right next to his ear.

“No, I don't.” he denied. Even though he knew it would be futile.

“Ooooooh!” Hanji cooed, grinning from ear to ear.

“How long has it been since your last crush? Four years? Five? What was his name again? Farlan -something?” she rambled, leaving Levi to simply shake his head in defeat.

Of course he would keep denying it, but now that Hanji got that idea into her head, there would be no stopping her meddling.

“Six, actually.” he corrected her nonetheless, “And his name was Farlan Church.” He shrugged, not really wanting to get into that particular topic, but he would if it meant distracting Hanji from her current discovery.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well? What do you guys think?  
> It was about time Hanji caught on to Levi's crush, wasn't it? Now she's gonna pester him even more about Eren, I can just see it already xD  
> Poor Levi...
> 
> In other news, I was released from the hospital on wednesday and _gods am I happy to be back home!_ like, you have no idea how much i missed just being able to write in peace without people constantly coming up to me, asking what I'm doing, what I'm writing and if they could read it and just _ugh_
> 
> Anyway, anyone who wants to chat or talk ereri AUs is welcome to drop by on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) x3


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gods.  
> I am so sorry this took me so long QAQ  
> I know I promised a new chapter first around july/august and then again for september. And now we have the middle of october already? Well, shit.  
> Sorry QAQ All I can say is that my life got really super busy in august (I got a new job with a regular 9-hour-day + school for two days a week) and I still havent really adjusted to it? I tried to squeeze in some time to write whenever I could, but juggling job, school, writing and my miserable social life isn't easy D:  
> I just hope it'll get better soon ^^"
> 
> Now I'll stop rambling. Enjoy the chapter, and as always; any and all mistakes are on me! :D

To be honest, Eren had forgotten all about his talk with Hanji by the time his mother and sister came back home that evening. He had been studying and worked on a new song, so time had just flown by without him even realizing how late it actually was. And now the three of them were sitting in the living room, Carla talking to them about her meeting with the other parents and the dean. 

“They're all such nice people! And Marco's mother! She's a joy to be around! Have you met her? Oh, but don't cross her, or she'll basically murder you. You should have seen her when we went and talked to the dean!” Carla was just saying.

Eren had to shake his head, both at his mother's animate talking and her question of having met the woman. 

“No, we haven't actually.” Mikasa admitted.

“Oh you should meet her! Maybe once all of this is over. You could invite the whole band and their families over!”

“What? Invite them all here? Into this tiny-ass flat?” Eren was incredulous.

“No, you dummy.” Mikasa chided him at the same moment his mother admonished him for his language. 

“Eren! No cussing!”

“Sorry, sorry, mum!” he was quick to apologize, and Carla huffed before she deigned it okay to keep talking.

“I thought you could invite them all down to Cali. Our house _is_ big enough to let them all stay, especially if you kids all share a room.” She gave them a pointed look. 

Eren and Mikasa shared a look then, Eren shrugging and leaving the decision to Mikasa.

“Sounds like a nice idea, mum.” she hummed, “We'll think about it and ask the others if they'd be willing to come.” 

“Great!” Carla smiled and then turned serious again, “Now, back to the mater with that dean...” 

The siblings listened quietly while Carla relayed their conversation with the dean to them.

“So the suspension stays intact? Really?” Mikasa looked grim.

Carla sighed. “I'm afraid so. That man really isn't a fan of your group.”

Eren frowned. “We never did anything to him that would explain that kind of behaviour toward us, though.”

Mikasa nodded, agreeing to him. 

“I know you didn't. The other's agreed with me that he is being ridiculous, but he is the dean. His word is law at his college.”

“And if we change colleges? I mean, it's not usual that people transfer in the middle of the semester, but we could, right?” Eren remembered Levi's suggestion from the other day. 

“That might be thee best course of action at this point. I don't want you studying at a place were the professors aren't supporting their students.” Carla nodded, “However, that would mean you'd have to move eventually, depending on where your new college is. And not everyone of your group might be willing or able to move.”

Eren frowned. He didn't like the thought of being separated from his friends. “Well, shit.” he muttered, and Mikasa nodded, quiet and obviously thinking. 

“I'm sorry. You should talk to your friends and see what they want to do. You can decide what to do, then.”

Though Eren had no doubt in his mind that he and Mikasa would be changing colleges before the semester was over he still nodded slowly. 

 

Later in his room, Eren scrolled through the comments on his Youtube videos. He had avoided reading them until now, mostly because he feared he would lose his temper and lash out at anyone who left hateful comments. To his surprise, most of them seemed to be rather supportive, offering help and kind words. Of course, there was the occasional  _'Go die in a ditch, liar! Rivaille would never steal your stupid music! It's not even worth it -it's too bad!'_ -kind of comment, but now that he'd had a week to calm down and get used to the situation, he remained calm. 

He was still somewhat pissed and would've loved to tell those people to go fuck themselves silly, but he didn't. Instead, he deleted every hate-comment he found, feeling a little like he was telling them off without actually saying something. It took him a good while, and he was just about finished and ready to move on to his in-box, when Skype started ringing. 

He smiled unconsciously, already forgetting all the mean comment he had read during the last hour or so and clicked to accept the call.

“Hey, Levi!”

 

 

 

Lucky for him, Hanji latched on to the topic of Farlan like a leech. Even though back then they had discussed him at lengths. He didn't mind, though. As long as it meant she would lay off of him with the things concerning Eren, Levi wouldn't complain. 

“Right, Farlan! He was such a cutie! I still don't understand why he left you!” she pouted.

“Well, he fell for someone else.” Levi shrugged.

“I know, I remember! It was that girl, right?”

He nodded, “Yes, Isabel.” He still remembered that lively redhead who had stolen Farlan's heart from him. Not that he minded it. He had seen right from the start that they were meant to be. It had still hurt, of course, but he had buried that pain deep inside him and eventually it subsided. 

He had concentrated a lot on his music back then, and now he was over it for quite a while already.

“Isabel, right! Are you still in contact with the two of them?”

“Not much, really.” Every now and then he heard from Farlan, but mostly it was just nonsensical stuff. They didn't really discuss what had happened between them back then.

“Last thing I heard, they got engaged a few months ago.” he admitted.

“Oh, really? And you're okay with that?” Hanji inquired.

Levi raised an eyebrow quizzically, “Why wouldn't I be?”

Hanji shrugged. “Well, maybe you still felt something for him and just never told me?”

“Nonsense.” he frowned. She should know that, since she'd been there for him every step of the way during the time when Farlan and he had broken up. 

Hanji grinned her Cheshire grin then, and Levi just knew he had run right into the trap she had laid out for him.

“Nonsense, eh? Well. That leaves you with enough room for feelings for a certain young violinist, doesn't it?”

Levi glared at her. Of course she was right, but he wouldn't admit that. God knew her head would only get bigger than it already was, and he wouldn't deal with that. 

“Oh? No comment? Come on, grumpy butt. I know you want to talk to me.”

“No, I don't, Hanji. Now lay off of that bullshit you're spouting or I'll kick you out and change the locks.”

“You wouldn't!” she gasped.

“I would.” he dead-panned, leaving noting for her to doubt. Not to mention that he'd done it once before, already. Apparently, Hanji didn't remember that, or she would've believed him the moment he'd said it. 

She pouted. “Fine! I'll stop the questions if you admit that you _like_ him! You won't need to change your locks and I get the answer I want too know most!”

Levi pondered. He knew there would most likely be a catch to that, since it was Hanji he was talking to.

“Come on, Levi! Pretty please?” she whined and pulled him even closer to her, ruffling his hair. 

“Okay. One question, no more. Promise on your workshop.” he crossed his arms and allowed her to hug him.

“Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, Levi! Now, my question is: Do you or do you not have a crush on Eren?”

“Ah, ah, ah, Hanji. Promise first.” Levi admonished her. He wouldn't admit to anything until he heard her promise. 

She pouted, “Fiiine. Spoilsport! I promise on my workshop that this is the only question I will ask you concerning your feelings for Eren. Happy now?”

“Very much so, yes.” he allowed himself a tight-lipped smile.

“Weeeeell...?” Hanji was bouncing on her heels in front of him now, eagerly awaiting his answer.

Levi huffed. “...Yes, I suppose so.” he muttered, glaring at the ground. 

He wasn't too happy admitting it, but it was too late to take the words back, now. He was still hoping this crush of his would go away soon, anyway. And when that happened he could go back to being his usual grumpy self, right?

Right, yeah. As if that was going to happen. Just thinking about the young man left him with a light, fuzzy feeling in his chest that just wouldn't go away. No way this crush would pass any time soon.

“Ooooh! I _knew_ it! This is wonderful news, Levi! I'm so happy for you!” Hanji cheered, clapping her hands happily. “Do you think he feels the same?” she wanted to know then.

Levi didn't need to think about that.

“No. He may admire my work, but nothing else. Besides, I'm twelve years older than him, Hanji! Do you really thin he would fall for someone twelve years his senior? Not to mention that we don't even know if he's gay or not. And this is me we're talking about.”

He expected her to look at him with pity in her eyes, but when he looked, all he could see were concern and maybe a hint of sadness.

“Oh, Levi.” her earlier cheery mood was somewhat dampened and she went to hug him again.

“I don't think it's a problem that you're so much older. You look a lot younger.”

He huffed. “I'd still feel like a cradle robber, though.”

“Pff. You're both adults. Just look at the actors these days. There are couples with an age gap of more than 30 years! That's more than double of what you and Eren would have!” she tried to cheer him up, but it didn't really work. 

“That still doesn't make me feel any better, Hanji.” Levi frowned.

“Well, just wait until you meet him. I'm sure you'll change your mind.”

“I _will not_ meet him, Hanji!” he rebuked.

“Oh, but of course you will! Remember I asked him about that interview? And I also recall you offering him to play a duet together. You will have to meet!”

“Well, he didn't even agree to that interview and he refused the offer I made several times.” In Levi's opinion, that was as clear a no as it could possibly get.

“Shush, you! He said he'd ask the others first, but he isn't against it! As for that duet, well, we can still convince him!”

He cringed inwardly. Hanji convincing Eren would most likely end up in her pestering him until he just gave up and agreed just to stop her constant nagging. He knew that was what he'd do, anyway.

 

 

 

“Hello, Eren!” Hanji's voice echoed through his room and Eren frowned.

“Hanji?” he was a little confused. Why would Hanji be calling him again? And from Levi's account, no less!

“Hey, Eren.” Levi's voice stopped his wondering. 

“Levi! Hey!” 

So, apparently Hanji was over at Levi's place, huh?

“Ho are you doing, my cute little one?” Hanji immediately started to chatter away and he could hear Levi groan.

“I'm doing okay, I guess. But please, Hanji, don't call me 'little one'.”

“Ah! But you are! You were such a cute kid back then!”

“Maybe. But I grew a lot since then.” he had to point out and Hanji grumbled.

“Leave a woman her dreams, will you?” Eren could practically see her pout.

“It's your own fault. If you weren't so obnoxious half the time you're around us, we wouldn't have to.”

Eren's heart stopped for a second there and his breath hitched. Levi had said  _us._ Like they were together -or at least good friends. Of course he knew Levi would never mean it like that though, so he tried to get that thought out of his head.

“So mean!” Hanji complained.

“Tch.”

“Well, anyway! Eren! The reason we're calling is the interview I mentioned. Did you talk to the others yet?”

“Not all of them, no.” He had talked to Mikasa and Armin, and Armin had promised to talk to Annie, Jean and Marco, but he hadn't heard back from him yet.

“Aw, boo.”

“Well, Armin and Mikasa are okay with it, though. So I doubt the others wouldn't agree, too.”

“That's good news.” Levi said, his voice sounding somewhat strangled. 

Eren could only imagine Hanji had probably just latched onto him and hugged the life out of him in her happiness.

“Yes, it is!” she agreed, “So, we can set up a day and time, yes?”

Eren hummed in confirmation, “Yeah.”

“Okay. Just name a day and time and we'll be there.”

That surprised Eren. “Really? But, doesn't Hanji have to work?”

“Oh, no. I can close my workshop for a day or two or three no problem.”

“Ah, okay. Well. I'm not sure about the others, but I think Friday would be fine. That's usually the day we meet at the basement to practise, so they should be free then.”

“Great! We can be there on Friday. And what time? In the morning or the afternoon?”

“Hm, I think the afternoon would be best.”

“Okay, we'll rent a conference room then and let you know where it is.”

“Sounds good.” Eren nodded, happy Hanji and Levi would take care of all the organisational stuff.

“Aaaah! I'm so happy I get to see you again, Eren!” Hanji cheered.

“Uhm, me too?” he was a little overwhelmed. 

He got to meet his idol -Levi!- on Friday! They'd probably not really talk much outside of the interview, but still. He'd be as close to him as he'd been when he got lost that one time at the concert. He couldn't wait.

-Wait! That probably meant he should tell the band that he'd been talking to Levi pretty much constantly since he'd discovered the theft. Oh, they were so not going to let him live that down, were they? He groaned just thinking about it.

“Eren, are you okay?” Levi's concerned voice pulled him out of his musings. 

“Hm? Oh, yes! I just thought about something I'll have to do soon. Don't worry, I'm fine.” he was quick to explain, hoping they would accept that explanation.

“Oh, okay then. Hanji, was there anything else we needed to discuss?”

“No, I don't think so. Though we should probably tell Mr. Eyebrows about what we're planning.”

“Mr. Eyebrows?” Eren asked, not having any clue about who they could possibly talking about.

“My new manager, Mr. Smith. Remember, I told you about him?” Levi was quick to offer the answer to his question.

“Right, him.” Eren nodded. He indeed remembered that. 

“I guess we should, Hanji. Ah, Eren. The other day I picked up the contract stating that the Titans will be sharing the money I make with your song. It's divided 65/35 in the band's favour. I figured that would only be fair, since you're more people and I already have more than enough money. I could bring it along on Friday, if you'd like?”

That surprised Eren. He wouldn't have thought Levi could get things settled this fast. Not to mention the band actually still hadn't officially agreed to sharing the money or anything, really. At least, not that he could remember. And Armin would have said something if they had, right?

“I think that would be great. We could look over it then and see if it's okay like that or if we need to make some changes.” he nodded slowly, even though Hanji and Levi couldn't actually see him. 

“Okay, great! We'll get going then! See you on Friday, Eren!” Hanji ended the call before Eren could even say something back, but a second later he got a message from Levi.

“ _Shitty glasses has no chill. Mr. Eyebrows isn't going to go anywhere any time soon, but she still insists we go now. We'll talk more later, okay?”_

Eren smiled and just sent a 'thumbs up' emoticon to show he agreed to the offer. He saw Levi log off then and decided to go back to what he'd been doing before he'd been interrupted. 

 

The rest of the week flew by for the band. Eren and Mikasa told the others about their plan to change colleges, Armin told everyone about the upcoming interview after Eren had told him all the new details, Carla flew back to California -even though she had wanted to stay for the interview- and Eren even told the others about his regular talks with Levi. He never mentioned any details, though, and he stuck to his alias, Rivaille, since the band didn't know Levi's real name. He still got those knowing looks fro Mikasa and Armin, though, which he stubbornly chose to ignore. 

And then it was Friday afternoon and Eren was a nervous wreck. Had it not been for everyone's attempts to try and distract him, he would've most certainly died of nerves already.

 

 

 

Levi was pacing restlessly. Friday had come sooner than he had anticipated and now he didn't know what to do with himself. Usually he wasn't someone who got easily stressed or even nervous, but the outlook of meeting Eren didn't do him any good for his state of mind. He'd say he was a jittery mess and he knew he hadn't been this bad in years. -Not since his first world stage concert, at least. The only good thing was that Hanji wouldn't see him like this. She and Mr. smith were supposed to pick him up in half an hour and he intended to be his usual impassive self by then. 

No one was supposed to know just what impact meeting Eren had on him.

 

Later he wouldn't be able to tell how the drive to Eren's city had passed or how he'd spent the last minutes before meeting Eren. The fist thing he remembered was looking at the door to the room they where meeting in when the band arrived, waiting for the moment the young man would walk in. 

the first to enter was the blond kid, followed by the two girls. Then there was that dark haired boy and after him-

Nothing. 

No one followed him, and Levi couldn't help but feel his heart sinking. Eren had said he would come, so why wasn't he here?

Just when he was about to ask, they heard a shout from down the hall.

“ _You what?!_ Eren! Tell me you're lying!”

Levi felt his heart soar. Eren was here. Just down the hall, in fact, bickering with who could be none other than Jean.

He took a deep breath and tried to push the resurfacing nervousness away. That was when he felt someone's hand on his shoulder and he looked to his side. There stood Hanji, offering him a cheery grin and the supportive weight of her hand on his shoulder. 

Levi sighed and allowed himself a tight-lipped smile. He would be fine. Everything would be fine. 

There was laughter reaching his ears, and he knew that could only be Eren's. During the last weeks he had come to know that sound quite well and as cheesy as it may be, he had even tried to write music trying to catch the feeling he got every time he heard Eren laugh. 

He supposed it was Jean who entered the room then, closely followed by the one person he had been waiting for. Eren still had a wide grin on his face and the other boy was grumbling and glaring at him, but he didn't seem to mind that at all.

“I'm sorry we're late. I just had to... discuss something with Jean here first.” Eren apologized, “I'm Eren. Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith, Ms. Zoe, and L- Mr. Rivaille.”

Levi was glad he had told Eren about Hanji and Mr. Smith and that the band should at least try to be polite. Not that Hanji would be very impressed by that, but he supposed it couldn't hurt if his manager got a good first impression of them. 

Eren and Mr. Smith shook hands and the rest of the band introduced themselves then. By then Hanji was bouncing on her heels, clearly impatient for the formalities to be over. Undoubtedly so that she could tackle Eren into one of her bear-hugs. Levi would have warned him, but a not exactly small part of him wanted to see how Eren would react to that. And... Maybe he hoped Eren would look to him for help to pry Hanji off of him, okay?

The moment introductions where over, Hanji bounded over to the young man, jumping to wrap both her arms and legs around him and he had to hold her up. It was a good thing Eren was about a head taller than her and could hold her up easily enough. He still stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance, though. 

“Eren! It's so good to see you again! My, you've grown up so much! A fine young man you have become, I'm so proud of you!” she chattered away happily, ruffling his hair -which Levi may have been somewhat jealous about- and showed no signs of wanting to be let down.

The other band members were all looking at the pair in various states of confusion and Levi could only guess they didn't know Eren had met Hanji and him when he'd been just a little boy. The only one looking more or less unconcerned was his sister. At least, he thought she was. Eren had said that Mikasa was the dark-haired girl, right? 

“Woah, Hanji! Uhm, thank you? I guess?” Eren stumbled over his words, his eyes scanning the room, looking for someone willing to help.

Mr. Smith looked mostly surprised, but he didn't move or say anything to help Eren, and the band was still recovering, it seemed. Only Jean raised an eyebrow and Eren, clearly mocking him. His sister stood impassively as well, though a small smile graced her lips. That only left Levi, and he was about to step forward to help Eren pry Hanji's limbs off of him, when she suddenly let go to stand on her own two legs again.

“Oh, no need to, my dear! You can repay me by playing your violin for me some time! We'll be around for a few days!”

Eren gawked at her. He didn't get a chance to say anything though, since Mr. Eyebrows decided that would be a good time to break up the nice chatter and get down to business. He clapped his hands and waved at everyone to sit down. 

“Good. Now that we're all here, we should talk about how this interview is going to run.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come at me.
> 
> (ง •̀_•́)ง
> 
> You're all welcome to come scream at me in person [here](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) x3


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